Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

, ,

Addressing Hunger in Pakistan

hunger in Pakistan
According to the 2022 Global Hunger Index, the country of Pakistan ranks 99 out of 121 countries. With hunger in Pakistan’s score at 26.1 out of 50 on the index, the issue in the country is ranked as “serious.” The problem itself is due to a combination of factors. One is the devastating 2022 summer floods. A second is the current economic crises that are severely affecting the Pakistani government’s ability to manage food scarcity.

Hunger and Food Insecurity Across the Population

Almost 17% of Pakistan’s population is undernourished. Children are among the most greatly affected. Almost 40% of children under five suffer from “stunting” or have low height for their age due to undernourishment. “Child wasting” affects seven percent of children under five. This means that they are below the average weight for their age because of severe undernourishment. Finally, child mortality (children who die before age five) is a startling 6.5%.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), a survey from 2018 showed that 36.9% of the population faces food insecurity. Women are especially at risk as among the most vulnerable and economically challenged portion of the population. Moreover, due to cultural and social taboos, many women find it difficult to access humanitarian services and aid. In addition, the World Food Programme found a direct link between girls’ level of education and all forms of undernutrition.

Flooding and Hunger

The devastating floods of the summer of 2022 further destabilized Pakistan’s rising inflation and poor economic situation. Pakistani government officials stated that the floods destroyed almost 80% of crops. This staggering number has major ramifications for a country where an average household spends around 50% of its income on food. Also, the State Bank of Pakistan proclaimed that foreign reserves fell to $4.3 billion. That is barely enough to buy three weeks of imports. Finally, even with pledges of $10 billion from the international community to help Pakistan’s recovery, supply chain shortages in everything from medical supplies to soybeans keep prices high and the people suffering.

Wheat is a staple food in the diet of an average Pakistani. The prices of wheat have skyrocketed, partly because of a decrease in wheat from Ukraine due to the war there. Wheat and flour are so scarce in some parts of Pakistan that armed police have to guard distribution trucks. At one point, desperation led people to stampede the trucks and the stampede led to the death of a person. Furthermore, food prices in the country rose almost 36% in December 2022, compared to 31% in November.

Support from Humanitarian Organizations

To combat these difficult challenges, organizations that fight hunger such as Action Against Hunger and Islamic Relief are comprehensively tackling hunger in Pakistan. In the province of Sindh, Action Against Hunger promotes kitchen gardening and supports farmers to grow crops that are resistant to changing weather patterns. The organization also provides communities with knowledge and information on new techniques to grow vegetables. Finally, it provides households with young children with goats and poultry. Action Against Hunger aid reached more than 2 million people last year.

Islamic Relief supported more than 1 million people in the aftermath of the floods. It provided communities with 40,000 liters of daily clean drinking water, 123 water tanks, 11,667 food packs and 7476 winter kits.

The challenges are very much present, but organizations are working alongside the government to implement new initiatives to eliminate hunger in Pakistan.

– Saad Ul Haque
Photo: Flickr

Gates Foundation Makes a New Commitment to Ending Polio

Ending Polio
During the World Health Summit in October 2022, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed $1.2 billion USD towards ending polio worldwide. This commitment falls in support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) Polio Eradication Strategy 2022 – 2026. The Gates Foundation has donated almost $5 billion to the GPEI.

“Polio eradication is within reach. But as far as we have come, the disease remains a threat. Working together, the world can end this disease,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The GPEI’s Strategy will need $4.8 billion for full implementation. With the help of The Gates Foundation, UNICEF, The Rotary Club, the United States and many more, a total of $2.6 billion in funding is going towards the Strategy. 

What this Means for Polio Eradication

The Gates Foundation’s financial commitment is only second in amount out of all parties who donated to the GPEI’s Strategy. “The fight against polio has done far more than protect children against polio. It has played a key role in strengthening health systems,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The commitment from the Gates Foundation and all the other parties involved will focus on ending polio in the “last two endemic countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – and stop outbreaks of new variants of the virus.”

Polio cases have often affected those in the most underserved and impoverished areas across the globe. This is in part because the virus is transmissible through poor hygiene practices which are hard to practice for those without proper water and health care. The following countries and organizations are the others who contributed to the GPEI’s Strategy.

  • Australia
  • France
  • Malta
  • Monaco
  • Spain
  • Turkey
  • United States
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America
  • UNICEF
  • Latter-day Saint Charities
  • Rotary International
  • Luxembourg
  • Republic of Korea
  • Japan
  • Germany

GPEI Strategy 2022 – 2026

The Strategy adds to two vital goals that are in line with the current progress of the eradication effort. The two goals are: (1) To permanently interrupt all Poliovirus transmission in endemic countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan). (2) To stop cVDPV (circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus) transmission and prevent outbreaks in non-endemic countries.

The GPEI Strategy will achieve these goals by “[transforming] its approach in each region and country through five mutually reinforcing objectives.” GPEI’s structure and holistic approach to the strategy support these objectives and goals. With everything in place for what the GPEI’s Strategy stands for, the eradication of polio is within reach.

Looking Forward

The Gates Foundation’s ongoing donation to the important goal of eradicating polio is vital to helping those in poverty. Polio disproportionately affects those in poverty as they are often unvaccinated and without proper means for hygiene regimens that would otherwise prevent the virus from spreading. The work of the GPEI, the Gates Foundation, UNICEF and many others can result in the eradication of polio with support from around the globe.

– Sean McMullen
Photo: Flickr

,

3 People Under 30 Who are Fighting Global Poverty

People Under 30
Young people feel discouraged in today’s political environment. As an age group, they tend to have the least number of resources, know-how and influence. Global poverty and suffering are some of the most widespread issues today and many young people feel helpless because of the magnitude of these problems. Here are three people under 30 fighting global poverty and inspiring young people globally.

José Quisocala

The first of the people under 30 fighting global poverty is José Quisocala who is a high school teen fighting poverty in his home country of Peru. He realized at age 7 that there were many children around him who did not have the same access to schools, health care or stable family life. He coupled his compassion for others with his desire for a clean environment and created The Banco del Estudiante Bartselena. The Banco del Estudiante Bartselena is a bank that allows children to turn in the litter they have collected in exchange for money. José has been running the bank for more than nine years, and during this time, he has helped more than 6,500 children pay for meals and schooling.

Joshua Williams

Joshua Williams is another high school teen who has put his heart and soul into changing the world around him. As a 4-year-old in Miami, Florida, Joshua realized there were kids in his neighborhood that were malnourished. To combat this, Joshua founded the nonprofit called Joshua’s Heart. Joshua’s Heart employs teenage volunteers to help raise money for the organization, package donations and distribute aid packages. Over the past 12 years, Joshua has globalized his nonprofit and has helped to bring food and hygiene products to almost half a million people across seven different countries. Joshua continues to work hard and encourage young people to join the fight against global poverty.

Sonita Alizada

Sonita Alizada is an Afghan rapper in her 20s who is globalizing and advocating efforts to end child marriage. She was born in Afghanistan, and during her early childhood, she and her family escaped the Taliban regime. Sonita and her family lived impoverished lives as refugees in Iran, forcing them to sell Sonita into child marriage at age 10. The contract fell through, but Sonita was only free until age 16 when her family tried again to sell her into child marriage. Sonita miraculously escaped and now uses her story to shed light on the saddening state of child marriages, which often have roots in extreme poverty. Thousands of girls share Sonita’s story, which inspired Sonita to make a difference by using her rapping skills to spread awareness.

Closing Thoughts

Global poverty is not an issue that one person or group of people can solve alone. Solving global poverty will require a united effort to tackle an issue that plagues people across all stretches of the planet. Young people generally feel the most discouraged about being able to make a change, but these examples of people under 30 show how kids and young adults can play integral roles in fighting global poverty.

– Alexandra Curry
Photo: Flickr

,

Estonia’s Foreign Aid

Estonia's Foreign Aid
Estonia is a Baltic country located in Northern Europe, which gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Although it is a newly independent country, Estonia has a developed economy with its globally known advanced digital services industry. Being an EU member state since 2004 and an OECD member state since 2010, Estonia’s economy is growing. The country’s GDP in 2021 was $51,531 billion, with $38,700 per capita, according to The CIA World Factbook.

How is Estonia’s Foreign Aid Organized?

Estonia’s foreign aid focus on two aspects, which are development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. Between 2020 and 2030, Estonia is providing development assistance, in particular to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in Europe and to Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Uganda in Africa. Estonia’s priorities in its development aid are ensuring peace, security and stability, diminishing poverty in target countries, and sharing its development experience with them in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Estonia’s foreign aid serves not only the development of other countries but also Estonia’s own security. To realize this purpose, two institutions are in charge of organizing Estonia’s foreign aid. On the one hand, the Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia is the policy maker of the country’s official development assistance program. It sets strategies, and short-term and long-term action plans both for development assistance and humanitarian aid. On the other hand, Estonia Centre for International Development is responsible for implementing Estonia’s foreign aid projects both in development cooperation and in the field of humanitarian assistance, increasing Estonia’s participation in international aid projects and providing a bridge between the stakeholders and the beneficiaries. The centre is delivering its duties in a way that best serves the country’s interest.

The Amount That Estonia Spends on Foreign Aid

Although Estonia organizes its foreign aid professionally, when it comes to numbers, Estonia does not meet the international standards for official development assistance (ODA) amount. In 1970, the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DCA) set its ODA target for the first time that member countries should spend 0.7% of their GDP on their ODA programs. There has been no change in this target since then. Additionally, the member states who were members of the EU by 2004 agreed in 2005 to meet this target by 2015. Despite the fact that Estonia joined the EU only in 2004 and received an exemption from the aforementioned commitment, as an OECD member country, Estonia is still under the obligation of sparing an amount for its ODA equal to 0.7% of its GDP.

Estonia used to increase the ratio of its GDP spared for foreign aid. According to Estdev, in 2016, Estonia allocated 0.19% of its GDP for foreign aid, its record so far. Following that, between 2017 and 2020, Estonia spared 0.16% of its state budget for its ODA program. Lately, in 2021 Estonia increased this ratio to 0.17%, which is equal to $59 million, according to OECD.

The Future of Estonia’s Foreign Aid

It is a positive sign that the COVID-19 pandemic did not prevent Estonia from continuing its foreign aid activities at the same level. Moreover, the Estonian government pledged to increase the rate spent on foreign aid to 0.33% by 2030, according to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, this target is far from the OECD ODA target.

 – Murathan Arslancan
Photo: Flickr

,

How Grian is Aiding Education in Ghana

Education in Ghana
Education in Ghana is a consistent challenge, particularly in rural areas with “poor classroom conditions, inadequate textbooks and teaching materials and a high rate of female dropout after primary level.” The overall quality of education is low, with a child who has completed nearly 12 years of school having only learned the equivalent of fewer than six years of schooling. According to Cross Catholic Outreach, “nearly a third of students don’t complete primary school and only 47% complete secondary school.” Access to education aids the fight against poverty because receiving a high-quality education improves the likelihood of success for young children. Gender inequality is another issue for education in Ghana; child marriages, labor and the overarching stereotype that a female’s education is “less valuable” than a male’s.

Who is Grian?

Grian is a content creator, primarily publishing Minecraft videos on YouTube. Most known for being a prominent member of Minecraft’s Hermitcraft series, Grian has more than 8 million subscribers on YouTube meaning that he has the ability to reach and potentially influence a wide audience from all over the world. Over the course of 2021, Grian and his viewers worked on raising money to build a primary school in Ghana. Through various online events, they raised a total of more than £27,000 (almost $37,000), surpassing the sum needed to finish the project. While Grian raised this amount of money, credit also has to go to Nana A. Bonin III, Queen Mother of Denyase Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. She is the sole founder of this school and has worked to raise money since the project began in 2017.

The Denyaseman Village Pre-School

The Denyaseman Village Pre-School is located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. In July 2022, the “official ceremony to commission the school took place.” In addition to the financial support from Grian’s efforts, there were demonstrations of generosity from the community, with a local tailor offering to “make the school uniforms if the parents provided fabric.” This project reflects the need for educational development in rural areas of Ghana. The Denyaseman Village Pre-School is just one example of work people do to boost education in Ghana.

The completion of Grian’s project will undoubtedly increase the quality of life of local children, both now and in the future. When looking at education in Ghana, the statistics are telling enough that work is necessary to boost accessibility to learning resources. The education system faces “a fragmented and overloaded curriculum, unequal access and weak and incoherent administrative control.” In Ghana, it is common for students to “miss educational milestones” and drop out of school early and particularly for girls, educational outcomes beyond the secondary level are low, according to Cross Catholic Outreach.

The work of Grian is a prime example of someone utilizing their platform to advocate for the less fortunate. With more attention moving to the subject matter of extreme poverty, more influential figures could help the fight and aim to reduce poverty.

– Ruby Wallace
Photo: Flickr

,

Upholding Indigenous Language Rights of the Nez Perce

Indigenous Language RightsThe United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples highlights that the right to language is a human right for all persons and is a specifically crucial right for Indigenous communities across the world. “To be able to communicate in one’s language is fundamental to human dignity and freedom of expression. Beyond daily communication, indigenous peoples’ languages derive and are also crucial to identity, culture, health, governance, socio-economic well-being, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies,” the U.N. Human Rights Council says.

Furthermore, the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms the right to language “as an inherent right for Indigenous peoples.” Article 3 specifies that “Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literature and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.”

The Nez Perce Tribe, also known as the Nimiipuu people, are the first peoples of north-central Idaho. More than 3,500 members reside in the Nez Perce Reservation located in  Lapwai, Idaho, spanning about 770,000 acres. The Nimipuutímt language is an integral part of Nez Perce culture but risks extinction and is considered critically endangered. Efforts are underway to revive the language and protect Indigenous language rights.

The Nez Perce Language

The right to speak the Nimipuutímt language is one that the tribe has long defended. During the time of westward expansion, the Nimiipuu faced many challenges that led to them fighting to maintain control and access to their ancestral lands, language and identity. The tribe, like many communities speaking smaller or minority languages, had to choose between maintaining their language or receiving resources essential to their survival.

As Western settlers attempted to assimilate the Nez Perce people, settlers discouraged the use of the Nimipuutímt language, prevented its teaching and eventually banned it. Some parents opted not to teach their children the  Nimipuutímt language in hopes of sustaining and protecting their future. Additionally, children from impoverished backgrounds are more susceptible to being unprepared for schools that use English as a medium of instruction, and so, the language began to dissolve.

Poverty influences language longevity and determines one’s socioeconomic standing. Poverty can also make developing language learning skills difficult. While sources differ on the exact number of fluent Nimipuutímt speakers, the number is certainly fewer than 100 people worldwide.

The Nez Perce Language Program

Angel Sobotta is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe and coordinates the Nez Perce language program taught at Lapwai School District in Lapwai, Idaho. Sobotta has worked with the program for more than two decades.

The Nez Perce language program is structured in such a way that the Nez Perce language coordinators visit a public school biweekly to teach an hour-long Nimipuutímt language lesson. Regardless of the grade level, the educators rely on similar techniques and utilize teaching tools such as flashcards, storytelling, worksheets and interactive activities such as learning games, class projects and studies.

Dr. Dan Harvey, a computer professor from Southern Oregon University developed the Acquisition of Restored Native Speech (ACORNS) software program specifically for Indigenous language revitalization. Sobotta and the language coordinators use this free ACORNS program to create engaging language learning material.

Living Languages Grant Program

In June 2022, the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development awarded $7 million in grants under the Living Languages Grant Program to 45 American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal organizations.

The Living Languages Grant Program provides an opportunity for tribes to receive funding to document and revitalize languages that are at risk of disappearing because of a declining native-speaker population.  Native language preservation is a priority for the Biden-Harris administration and its approach to strengthening and supporting Indigenous communities. The Nez Perce received about $159,000 in support of their language revitalization efforts.

– Dorothy Quanteh
Photo: Flickr

,

Inca and Pre-Inca Water Systems Are Peru’s Future

Inca and Pre-Inca Water Systems
Peru has a mountainous landscape paired with a rich indigenous history—though many secrets were lost during the Spanish conquest, a long-forgotten practice is reemerging—and just in time to combat Peru’s water crisis. Water scarcity is common in Central and South America—in fact, Microtrends estimates in 2022, only 51% of Peruvians had access to clean drinking water. Peru is among many countries struggling with extremely dry seasons; in the city of Lima, only about 0.5 inches of rain falls annually, which is devastating to the citizens living there. With such little rainfall, one may question what the solutions are to make this water last. Additionally, one may ask what other water is available year-round aside from rainwater. The Inca and pre-Inca water systems are Peru’s future.

Who are the Inca?

The Inca were indigenous people who lived in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile prior to the Spanish conquest in 1532. The Incan empire stood as the largest pre-Columbian empire in all the Americas before the death of Atahualpa, also known as the final Incan emperor. Though the Inca civilization fell, Inca’s descendants still practice their customs and traditions. This includes a practice called water planting—a brilliant ration-based method to conserve water throughout the dry season. Here is some in-depth information about Inca and pre-Inca water systems in Peru.

Water Planting

Water Planting, a method that the Inca and pre-Inca used primarily, is a timed natural water filtration system that utilizes amunas—also known as water canals. This type of filtration relies on soil and trees and vegetation to filter rainwater and river water; this process of planting water takes weeks and even months for the water to return to clean water, according to BBC. Because of this timed release, water can continue to flow long into the dry season—and current Peruvians can predict exactly where the water will be released because of an intimate knowledge of the amunas. This method also allows for the addition of more minerals to the drinking water. Once the soil absorbs the water, the water irrigates down the river to the citizens below.

People living in Lima, Peru are reinvigorating water planting—acknowledging the method as a sustainable practice for cleaning water. However, it is not just Lima; other Andean towns have also readopted this method to combat water scarcity. Early tests showed that water planting provided double the amount of water Lima needed for the season, according to BBC.

Bofedales

Bofedales, an Inca-utilized resource, is a natural or man-made wetland or spring found in Peru. These miracle hot spots promote microbe growth, organism growth and vegetation growth—all of which help promote clean water. The Inca recognized the importance of these year-round springs and even created their own artificial wetlands to help meet their water needs.

However, in recent years poachers have raided Bofedales for rare flowers—which poachers then sell in cities at great profit. Without these plants and trees, water does not have proper filtration and therefore it is not clean, according to BBC. This means the systems the Inca created for their own freshwater need protection from poachers. It is not too late to save these wetlands. It is not too late to save Peru.

Stopping Deforestation

Nature has a way of working symbiotically, ecosystems are reliant on all their components to function properly. Without all these components, the ecosystem fails—the Inca knew this. Their methods relied on the symbiotic nature of the environment. Part of this includes an abundance of trees with deep, healthy roots. As a result, removing those trees and vegetation negatively impacts water quality.

This was the case in Moyobamba. When farmers tore down trees and turned the land into agricultural property, the quality of water suffered greatly. A coalition of environmental organizations—both local and international—developed agreements between farmers and Peruvians. Law groups introduced tariffs, resulting in Peruvians paying a small amount for farmers to reforest their land. The environmental organizations formed education groups and conservation initiatives, which saved the people of Moyobamba and became a blueprint for other cities in Peru to follow.

When the Inca and pre-Inca created their networks for clean water, they created the future for their future children. Their work may be the hope for the nation as natural infrastructures reemerge and people utilize them. Truly, Inca and pre-Inca water systems are Peru’s future.

– Thomas LaPorte
Photo: Flickr

3 Films that Highlight Problems in Developing Countries

Problems in Developing Countries
Making a film about the problems that people in developing countries struggle with often is not enough. It has to move people, make them talk and ideally influence change. Here are three films that highlight problems in developing countries and help change the world for the better.

“Desert Flower”

The film “Desert Flower” is based on the true story of Waris Dirie who experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) at 5 years old in Somalia. When she was 13, she escaped a forced marriage and ran away to London where she worked as a housemaid and at McDonald’s. At the age of 18, British photographer Terence Donovan helped her start a successful career in modeling. Now she is an activist against female genital mutilation. The film became a part of many anti-FGM campaigns in schools, universities, film festivals and other events across the globe. A number of organizations, including the UNHCR, UNICEF and embassies, have displayed “Desert Flower” as a profound statement in the fight against FGM.

FGM has impacted more than 200 million women around the world. According to UNICEF, it affects around 30 million girls across Africa. That is why, in 2002, Waris Dirie established the Desert Flower Foundation which aims to end female genital mutilation, educate people and save girls from it. The foundation also covers the cost of surgery and medical treatment for FGM victims. In 2013, in association with the hospital Waldfriede in Berlin, it opened the Desert Flower Center to provide quality health care for FGM victims. In addition, the organization created a project called Save a Little Desert Flower which saved 1,000 girls in Africa by entering into agreements with the parents to ensure their integrity. It started with the Together for African Women initiative in Ethiopia in 2011. The project gives women education and provides them with work skills that will allow them to become financially independent.

“Lion”

“Lion” is a film based on the story of Saroo Brierley. Growing up poor in India, he and his brother had to provide their family with money. In 1986, when Saroo was 5 years old, he fell asleep on the train while he was waiting for his brother. The train took him many miles away from his home to Calcutta. He had to survive on the streets, lived in an orphanage and then ended up in an Australian family. As an adult, he got a chance to find his family in India using Google Earth. He spent five years trying to recall the places he grew up in. After separation from his birth family, which lasted for 25 years, he finally found them. That shows how technology these days can do remarkable things.

In India, approximately 1.5 million children grow up without families in residential facilities that are badly managed and leave children prone to violence and exploitation. The movie highlighted that problem and inspired Purvi and Harsh Padia to collaborate with UNICEF USA to establish Project LION in 2018. In association with 12 state governments and the national Government of India, the project has developed non-institutional, family-based alternative care for children. Project LION took care of more than half a million children in its first three years. UNICEF has distinguished significant improvements in the provision of care for underprivileged children in India. There has been prevalent adoption of more child-friendly care models. The quality of care at children’s facilities has increased, especially when handling the special requirements and cases of children in a suitable and efficient manner.

“Capharnaüm”

“Capharnaüm” finishes off the list of films that highlight problems in developing countries. It is a story about a Lebanese boy named Zain who sues his parents for giving him life. Zain’s family is poor so they force their 11-year-old daughter Sahar into an arranged marriage with a man twice her age Assad. That decision makes Zain run away from home and survive on the streets of Beirut. At some point, he lives with another illegal immigrant Rahil and takes care of her baby Yonas. However, no matter how street-smart Zain is, he still ends up in jail and becomes another victim of the system because he does not have identity papers.

“Capharnaüm” is a docudrama which means that it mixes fiction with documentary. For instance, the events illustrated in the film have actually happened but the form is like a fictional movie. The boy who played Zain is also a Syrian refugee who has been working since he can remember. The actress who played Rahil did not have identity papers like her character and was arrested two days after she portrayed it in the film. The actors lived what they showed on the screen. Director Nadine Labaki carefully researched the situation in Beirut for four years. She talked to many kids in youth jails and detention centers. The film moved some people in Lebanon so they started a discussion and created a movement for change.

As Nadine Labaki said in an interview with The Guardian, “For me, film-making and activism are one and the same thing. I really do believe cinema can effect social change.” That is why it is important to learn by watching films that highlight problems in developing countries. It can start a conversation and affect change.

– Elizaveta Medvedkina
Photo: Flickr

Mobile Money Transfers in Villages

Money Transfers
Through the process of mobile transfer, recipients in villages have empowered themselves economically to pay for urgent health care delivery, education of their children and wards, clothing, accommodation, travel and sundry other needs that village dwellers have. Village dwellers in the developing world have one common problem when dealing with daily survival tasks like health care delivery, food, travel, trade, education and more. That common problem is access to cash. Long distances separate them from banks and automated teller machines (ATMs). Therefore, they need help paying for urgently needed products and services. This situation compounds their poverty.

Farmers, craftsmen and producers often have to wait for designated market days to sell their products for badly needed cash. During days in between, they have to endure extreme lack and deprivation and sometimes, the conditions of sick persons get worse and in some cases may lead to death. Even when relatives living in cities or abroad have the means and desire to assist their kin, they cannot do so due to the non-existence of rural banking or cash points/ATMs. However, the situation is now improving. The introduction of mobile money transfer technology enabled by widespread ownership of mobile phones in rural areas and the emergence of several network providers has brought relief to village dwellers. In Nigeria, Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) introduced MTN Mobile Money, popularly called MOMO and its impact on the villagers is like a miracle.

The MTN mobile money transfer launched in Nigeria on August 29, 2019. Although it had been operating in smaller African countries including Ghana and Cameroon, its potential to affect a larger population and therefore be able to lift more people out of poverty on the continent is bigger in Nigeria.

Definition of Mobile Money

The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Europe’s leading network of Economic Research defines Mobile Money as follows: “Mobile money refers to financial transaction services potentially available to anyone using a mobile phone, including the unbanked global poor who are not a profitable target for commercial banks.”

A blog on the World Bank website further defines mobile money as “……Services whereby customers use their mobile device to send and receive monetary value – or more simply put, to transfer money electronically from one person to another using a mobile phone.”

For the village dweller, the rapid transaction that results in ready cash for his immediate needs is a miracle. Relatives and buyers of products and services across the globe can remit money home or pay for services rapidly. Through the process of mobile transfer, recipients in villages have empowered themselves economically to pay for urgent health care delivery, education of their children and wards, clothing, accommodation, travel and sundry other needs that village dwellers have.

What is the Attraction of Mobile Money Transfers?

  • Lower Costs of Transactions: To the village dweller, the costs of transportation, time and risks going to the cities and towns to receive or deposit money in banks are drastically reduced.
  • Ready Availability of Cash: The ready availability of cash to meet urgent needs is the most significant attraction.
  • Empowerment and Ability to Save: Women and young people will empower themselves when they receive money through their phones. The privacy of transactions enables them to save.
  • Economic Growth: The village economy grows with the ability of recipients to engage in buying and selling, especially during harvest seasons.
  • Earning Money: Mobile money transfer agents earn money from their charges and can meet their immediate family needs.

The Impact

In a study conducted on the impact of mobile money transfers on rural dwellers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The conclusions found that: 

  1. It empowered rural women to become economically independent of their male counterparts in critical decision-making about themselves as well as increasing their capacity to save. Similar studies in Kenya and Bangladesh validated this as well.
  2. Mobile money enhances the informal insurance in the community against natural disasters through sharing.

Looking Ahead

The full impact of mobile money transfers on alleviating global poverty in rural areas continues to unfold as new studies into the technology and its application emerge. Many more countries in the developing world are now catching up to the miracle of mobile money transfers. It enables governments to put into practice the policy of financial inclusion that international financial institutions have advocated for as the gateway to alleviating global poverty.

– Friday Okai
Photo: Flickr

,

About Zimbabwe Since Mugabe

Zimbabwe Since Mugabe
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe and formerly recognized as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe is a landlocked nation in southern Africa bordering South Africa to its south and Zambia to its north. The nation gained independence in 1980 after a long period of colonial rule. Similarly to South Africa, Zimbabwe suffered a period of white-dominated rule in which the country suffered severe human rights violations, especially to the majority black population.

One of the longest-sitting leaders in modern times, some considered Robert Mugabe to be a revolutionary hero. Having led the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU – PF) and ousted the minority white government of Zimbabwe, Mugabe became the leader of the nation. Serving as President from 1987 to 2017. At first, many in Zimbabwe may have felt optimistic about Zimbabwe’s future, but after 30 years of economic stagnation and rampant hyperinflation, a military coup ultimately ousted President Mugabe. His dismal leadership of Zimbabwe’s economy and reports of many human rights violations are the main reasons for his departure. Here is some information about Zimbabwe since Mugabe.

The Economy

Unfortunately for President Mnangagwa, his predecessor left Zimbabwe in economic peril. With Mugabe gone, there was much elation at the prospect of a new leader in Zimbabwe, with many finally believing that the worst may be behind them. Mnangagwa promised the people of Zimbabwe economic prosperity and more democracy. The President stated at ZANU – PF headquarters that “No one is more important than the other. We are all Zimbabweans. We want to grow our economy. We want jobs.”

However, economic prosperity has yet to come, with some in the nation believing that Zimbabwe since Mugabe has actually worsened. Zimbabwe’s inflation problem seems to have continued under the new leadership, having a 557.2% inflation rate in 2020. However, 2021 saw a 458.66% decline in inflation to 98.55%.

The problem with hyperinflation is that the Zimbabwean dollar is effectively worthless, making it very hard for the economy to grow as foreign imports will simply be far too expensive. Many in Zimbabwe prefer using the U.S. dollar, whereas the South African Rand is the most common. However, the GDP per Capita in Zimbabwe was $1,774 in 2021, a 29.23% increase from 2020.

Poverty in Zimbabwe requires attention. The poverty rate in Zimbabwe was 85% in 2019, a 0.9% increase from 2017, the year Mugabe left the presidency.

Indicating that in the nearly six years since Mugabe, the government has been unable to make any significant change to poverty in the nation. Alongside a disturbingly high poverty rate, the country has an estimated 90% of the citizens either unemployed or work informally to make a living.

Human Rights

Perhaps unsurprisingly, with Mnangagwa being a member and leader of the ZANU – PF party, the same party as former President Mugabe and the only party in power since the ending of the white minority rule in Zimbabwe, human rights in Zimbabwe continue to be an issue in the nation.

Mnangagwa promised change in Zimbabwe, however, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) the situation continued to decline in 2020 under President Mnangagwa. According to HRW, more than 70 critics of the government were abducted and tortured in 2020. The HRW stated that “Security forces also continued to commit arbitrary arrests, violent assaults, abductions, torture and other abuses’ against anyone critical of the government.”

With Human Rights violations such as these, it is fair to suggest that not much has changed in Zimbabwe since Mugabe. As ex-President Mugabe received criticism for corruption and silencing of critics. 

Government Reaction to Human Rights

Under the leadership of Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe only repealed one law from the Mugabe era. Critics have suggested the government’s slow implementation of its commitment to political reform shows its lack of interest to re-engage with the international community. Instead, the party with a stranglehold of the politics in the nation would rather pursue the continuation of power in Zimbabwe. Al Jazeera spoke to a Zimbabwean citizen who said that “Under Mugabe, things were getting bad. It’s the same group of people (in power) essentially.”

The government however refutes this, suggesting that Mnangagwa has managed to stabilize the currency and committed to opening up the country for business. While the future certainly looks dim for Zimbabwe since Mugabe, there are some glimmers of hope. Zimbabwe actually has the second-largest platinum deposit in the world. The nation also has a significant amount of gold with more than 4,000 recorded gold deposits found so far in Zimbabwe. While the country’s mining sector in the Great Dyke has been inefficient up until now, the government aims to grow its platinum exports considerably.

Looking Ahead 

The potential of Zimbabwe’s mining sector could be huge, generating more revenue, creating new foreign investment opportunities and long-lasting well-paid jobs for Zimbabwean citizens. If done correctly, the government in Zimbabwe may be able to significantly reduce severe levels of unemployment and rampant poverty.

 – Josef Whitehead
Photo: Flickr