Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Migration to Turkey

Migration to Turkey
Migration to Turkey has hit an all-time high as Turkey is home to “one of the largest migrant populations in the world,” hosting about 4 million refugees and asylum seekers as of 2022, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to the International Organization for Migration, historically, Turkey has stood as “a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants” due to its “geopolitical location on the route from the Middle East to Europe” and the conflicts occurring in neighboring countries. Turkey’s migration history dates back to the 1400s, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Conflict and Violence as a Contributing Factor

Past historic conflicts such as World War II and the Kosovo War significantly contributed to the migration to Turkey while the Syrian civil war and the 2021 Taliban offensive remain the cause of more recent waves of migration.

One of the significant conflict-induced migrations to mention is the Bulgarian Turkish emigration that took place in 1989. Turks who ended up in Bulgarian territory while it was under Ottoman rule had to leave Bulgaria due to political pressure and violence in 1989. Nearly 400,000 ethnic Turks then emigrated back to Turkey. The Bulgarian emigration prompted further waves of migration from the Balkans.

In the 1990s, amid the Bosnian War, about 20,000 Bosnian refugees fled to Turkey in search of safety. In time to come, a similar number of refugees from Kosovo and Macedonia sought refuge within Turkish borders, also due to conflict and violence in their home countries.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis

The number of refugees coming from the Balkans remains relatively small compared to the scale of recent migration waves that hit Turkey. According to World Vision, as of 2021, data indicates that there are more than 6.8 million displaced Syrian refugees. Nearly 4 million of these Syrian refugees currently reside in Turkey.

The first wave of Syrian refugees came about in 2011 when the Syrian civil war just broke out. The world then had to accommodate a large number of war-fleeing refugees from Syria who are currently still unable to return to their country as the conflict rages on.

Turkey as a Country of Refuge

Hosting the largest population of Syrian refugees comes with great responsibility for the Turkish government in terms of meeting the economic and social needs of the migrants.

Turkey spent nearly $350 million of its budget on addressing the refugee crisis in 2022, according to the UNHCR. A large amount of that budget went to “realizing rights in safe environments” and “empowering communities and achieving gender equality.”

In 2021, the EU approved a budget of €149.6 million to fund the vulnerable Syrian refugees residing in Turkey. With the combined EU funding and the Turkish government’s budget for refugees, Syrian refugees are able to receive the support necessary to integrate into Turkish society and into the formal economy.

Alongside government support, there are many nonprofit organizations helping refugees. Established in 2015, Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) is an Istanbul-based nonprofit helping displaced families from the MENA region reestablish their lives through various programs. With a specific focus on youth and women, according to its website, SPI runs a number of initiatives to “promote access to education, protection, social services, psycho-social support and livelihoods.”

At present, Turkey is a major hub for war-fleeing migrants and a representative of exemplary migrant policies.

– Selin Oztuncman
Photo: Flickr

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Poverty Reduction in China

Poverty Reduction in China
In 1949, China was one of the world’s poorest countries with only 10 countries having a lower GDP. Now, however, it received the classification of being a high-income status country, with 800 million people having risen out of poverty since the 1980s. In 2021, the Chinese government announced that it had eradicated absolute poverty in the country. As a result of this strong and sustained development, the globe has recognized poverty reduction in China as a success.

A Brief History of China’s Success

The number of people living in China with incomes less than $1.90 per day, which is the international poverty line as defined by the World Bank to help track global extreme poverty, has fallen down significantly. An important achievement, this represents a 75% global reduction of those living in extreme poverty. This significant reduction has enabled China to become a “moderately prosperous society in all respects,” with poverty reduction in the country a result of continued economic growth and reforms starting from the 1980s. Key developments across the decades include:

  • 1980-1990: From 1980 to 1990, rapid income gains occurred in agriculture including an increase in production, industries’ subsuming of far labor and the increase in quality and quantity of food consumption.
  • 1990-2000: In 1990-2000, industry became the prime focus of Communist Party Chairman, Deng Xiaoping, who deepened and widened the reforms in both the rural and urban areas. This involved furthering market-oriented reform for future development and Chinese prosperity.
  • 2000-2010: The years 2000 to 2010 saw dynamism within the country’s export-oriented coastal areas spread farther inland. Herein, rural-to-urban migration increased, investment in infrastructure grew and growing proportions of China’s land became economically integrated into global value chains. There was also an expansion of Chinese social policies, including the creation of a basic safety net for the rural population.
  • 2010-2020: From 2010 to 2020, China widened the social policies it implemented during the 2000s, something which led to a targeted poverty eradication campaign. However, transfers became a more important factor in poverty reduction than labor incomes.

Poverty Reduction Under Xi Jinping

Since becoming the leader of China in 2012, Xi Jinping implemented his own policies to attain further poverty reduction in China. The core action includes deploying funds to cover several areas such as financing for rural infrastructure, agricultural subsidies and discounted loans. Other strategies include:

  • Targeting households that are in need of support rather than whole villages and counties. These households include people who are ill, handicapped or destitute.
  • Moving away from conditional cash transfer programs and towards loans, wages and subsidies.
  • Targeting individuals and households for resettlement so that they have better opportunities at living a fulfilled life.

Human Capital Failure

Despite poverty reduction in China receiving worldwide recognition, there are still a significant number of people who remain vulnerable and live in poverty. Human capital, especially in rural areas, remains underdeveloped. This is due to deficient education, with 63% of students dropping out of school before they graduate high school. There is also the issue of malnutrition, health problems and lack of childhood development for children.

Not only does the lack of efficient human capital negatively impact the future of rural children and their families, but it also threatens the stable future of China, even derailing the country’s success in poverty reduction. Currently, around 70% of the Chinese labor force lacks a high school education. As the country moves towards an innovation-driven economy, something which began during the reform period, between 200 and 300 million working-age Chinese may become unemployable. As a result, this is something that China needs to address.

The Future

In August 2021, President Xi introduced the concept of common prosperity at the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs with the aim of achieving it by 2050. He has referred to this term as being present when the incomes of low-income groups increase and there is societal fairness, balanced regional development and an emphasis on people-centered growth.

Common prosperity signals a new era for the country (ending the reform period), where socialist modernization receives recognition as pivotal for China’s continued poverty reduction. Along with focusing on the areas mentioned above, it seeks to address the perceived social ills which have stemmed and grown from capitalism and unchecked growth.

Common prosperity represents an optimistic future for poverty reduction in China. It shows the care and attention placed on social development, along with the continual attention directed to economic growth. President Xi hopes to make “solid progress” on this goal in 2035, and then to “achieve common prosperity by 2050.”

– Harkiran Bharij
Photo: Flickr

Energy Poverty in Myanmar

Energy Poverty in Myanmar
Located in Southeast Asia, Myanmar stands as one of the least developed countries and has the “lowest electrification rate” on the continent. According to the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU) in 2022, “80[%]of rural people have no access to grid electricity.” Considering the importance of electricity for sustainable growth, access to electricity is vital for poverty reduction. Inadequate electrification in Myanmar is a prolonged problem, recently aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the February 2021 coup. Myanmar needs more sustainable approaches to reduce energy poverty in Myanmar and promote economic growth.

Overview of Energy Poverty in Myanmar

Due to the lack of access to grid electricity in the rural areas of Myanmar, most of the rural population depend on “candles, kerosene, batteries and power generators” to go about their daily activities, according to the International Trade Administration.

According to the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, approximately 26% of the population in Myanmar lived in poverty in 2020. Furthermore, poverty rates in rural areas are double that of Myanmar’s urban areas. The lack of affordable and reliable access to electricity has hindered the economic growth of these areas especially.

According to the Miller Center, “Universal access to energy [can] provide an enormous boost to economic development, job creation and infrastructure improvements, particularly in rural communities.” Myanmar has set a target to expand access to electricity to 100% by 2030. However, the February 2021 coup “has thrown Myanmar into an economic crisis and put its electrification plans in peril,” The Globe and Mail reported.

Impact of the Military Regime in Myanmar

In February 2021, General Min Aung Hlaing and his junta overthrew the democratically elected government. The military takeover has led to halted cash flows, a devaluation of the currency and increasing costs for fuel and food. In addition, citizens face blackouts and “prolonged power cuts.” Not only does this impact households but it also detrimentally impacts businesses and students’ education.

When the coup occurred, many energy sector investors retracted from projects entirely or placed projects on pause. As a result, the military-run Ministry of Electricity and Energy “struggled to operate its infrastructure, honor contractual obligations, cover costs or follow through on projects,” The Globe and Mail reported.

The International Trade Administration confirmed this, stating that “Energy projects approved before the military takeover have been suspended due to the political and economic turmoil in the country.” As such, Myanmar is in dire need of foreign funding and investment in the power sector.

Actions to Address Energy Poverty in Myanmar

According to the Ministry of Electric Power (MOEP), the annual demand for power in Myanmar is rising annually from 15% to 17%. With the goal of providing “nationwide electricity access by the year 2030,” the government of Myanmar is planning to introduce a sustainable energy mix of “hydropower, natural gas, coal and renewable energy” to supply electricity to about 10 million homes in Myanmar under the National Electrification Plan (NEP).

Because of numerous electricity blackouts due to power decline since early 2022, the energy ministry in Myanmar started to focus on “damage control” and “attracting new foreign investment.”

In fact, Myanmar has an abundance of renewable energy resources to meet its energy needs. For instance, from 2016 to 2020, under the NEP plan, the Department of Rural Development (DRD) implemented “off-grid electrification” by using mini-grids and solar systems in rural communities. More than 430,000 households in 8,568 rural villages received these benefits, which provided electrical access to more than 2.1 million people. This success has encouraged Myanmar to expand off-grid renewable systems.

Nevertheless, political and economic turmoil under the military regime in Myanmar is causing power outages that directly impact the population, especially in rural areas. Also, “unsettled political and economic policies, unclear rules and guidelines and a shortage of skilled labor” as well as “corruption, lack of transparency in the tender and procurement process and banking issues” pose barriers for potential investors, the International Trade Administration said.

More investment in off-grid renewable energy sources can increase the accessibility of electricity in Myanmar. Because the national grid infrastructure in Myanmar is not well established, rural communities will benefit from the development of renewable mini-grids. The development of further off-grid renewable electrification systems will decrease energy poverty in Myanmar.

– Youngwook Chun
Photo: Flickr

The Kazungula Bridge Transforming Trade in Southern Africa

Kazungula Bridge
According to the World Bank, 58% of the Zambian population lives in extreme poverty, and 13% are unemployed. Although it is one of the poorest countries in the world, Zambia has an abundance of natural resources. However, it is landlocked. Its neighboring country Botswana, on the other hand, has a significantly lower percentage of poverty, around 20% of the population. A large part of its economy depends solely on diamonds which makes the country vulnerable to external economic factors. Both Zambia and Botswana would greatly benefit from increased trade to fuel economic growth and tackle poverty. However, the completion of the Kazungula Bridge will transform trade and boost economic growth.

The Zambezi River

The Zambezi river separates Zambia and Botswana. More specifically, this flow of water joins five countries together: Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Separated only by the river, this geographical point forms one of Africa’s most important trade triangles. The area is vitally important to expanding the local markets of the countries involved. Before, the only way to cross the river was to load trucks onto a pontoon and wait for good weather. Now, according to African Business, the completion of the Kazungula Bridge will become “a key driver for the progress and sustainable economic growth of the African continent.”

Life Before the Kazungula Bridge

Before the building of the Kazungula Bridge, crossing between Zambia and Botswana was difficult and time-consuming. According to CNN, the river was a major obstacle to trucks and traders “from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Durban, South Africa…” Vehicles would load up two by two into pontoons just to be hindered by strong currents and heavy rains. What was physically a 10-15 minute journey would take up to 15 days when waiting for the right weather conditions.

Furthermore, going through customs was a complicated process, especially with all the different countries involved at this major trading point. According to African Business, “traders and transporters along Southern Africa’s North-South Corridor have long been dogged by decrepit infrastructure, border delays and traffic jams, heightening both the cost and time of trade.”

Looking into the Future

Now, with the Kazungula Bridge in place, the passage has become much easier. The bridge is dramatically reducing congestion, lowering the cost of business and boosting trade not only between Zambia and Botswana but also around the world. According to CNN, copper from the DRC, Zambia and Tanzania pass through before heading toward China. Food from South Africa and mining equipment from Tanzania pass through before going to the rest of Africa.

Carlos Lopez, an economist and professor at the University of Cape Town, believes the Kazungula Bridge will spark trade and tourism. “We are talking about the confluence of Victoria Falls, Chobe, and Zambia’s most famous national parks… The potential to boost that type of eco-tourist offer is enormous…” With the level of poverty in Zambia and other neighboring countries, the completion of the Kazungula will hopefully be a boost to the economy. As truck driver Memory Lambie says, crossing into Zambia used to take two weeks with 10km long queues. “Now, it’s easy,” she says, “The bridge is 100% perfect to us.”

 – Emilie Zhang
Photo: Flickr

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Addressing Children’s Mental Health in the Philippines

Children’s Mental Health in the Philippines
In the Philippines, in 2018, children younger than 18 accounted for about 40% of the population, according to UNICEF data. The Philippine Development Plan for 2017-2023 points out that children stand “among the most vulnerable population groups in society.” Furthermore, the National Statistics Office (NSO) highlights that “mental health illnesses rank as the third most common form of morbidity among Filipinos.” The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues, making it crucial to address children’s mental health in the Philippines.

Overview of Children’s Mental Health in the Philippines

A 2015 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) highlights that approximately 17% of Filipino students aged 13 to 17 had attempted suicide once a year at minimum. This data indicates that mental issues among the youth have been an issue even before the pandemic. Notably, from March 2020 to May 2020, the Filipino government documented a “260% increase in online child abuse reports,” including instances of sexual exploitation, which has a direct impact on mental well-being.

Impact of COVID-19

At the beginning of the pandemic, the Philippines’ “militaristic approach” to lockdowns also affected children’s mental health due to the fear of violence under the military presence in communities, according to a study by Grace Zurielle C. Malolos and others.

This strict confinement limited physical activities and social interaction among adolescents, aggravating the stability of children’s mental health in the Philippines. In April 2020, when the Philippines implemented a total lockdown, a survey of 200 children aged 6-12 years old in both public and private schools in Luzon, Philippines, showed that the participants expressed feelings of sadness, fear, anger and disappointment, among other emotions. The study also found that parents’ views regarding the lockdown had a major impact on children’s mental health in the Philippines.

Impact of Extreme Weather

Because of its geographic location, the Philippines faces at least 20 typhoons annually. The Philippines faced 22 tropical typhoons in the year 2020 alone, causing numerous casualties. Overall, extreme weather patterns in the Philippines have had both direct and indirect impacts on the mental health conditions of Filipino children due to the destruction of schools and homes and increased feelings of stress and anxiety, among other impacts.

There is also the indirect impact of the psychological phenomenon known as “climate anxiety” or “eco-anxiety.” A 2021 Current Psychology article highlights that the threat of extreme weather patterns causes an increase in family stress, suicide ideation and amplification of past trauma. This aspect of children’s mental health in the Philippines often goes overlooked.

Efforts to Improve Children’s Mental Health in the Philippines

In 2021, the USAID RenewHealth Project collaborated with the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) to launch the first mobile application to improve mental health in the Philippines. This mobile application, called the Lusog-Isip app, provides access to self-care resources and self-help services for mental health needs. This includes workbooks, activities, journals, audio and more.

A pilot test of the app reveals that users experienced “improved well-being and the ability to use certain coping strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and emotional expression.” In the event that a user requires mental health resources that the app cannot provide, the app directs the user to these resources. The app will undergo further refining to ensure that it is most beneficial to the most vulnerable groups, such as young people.

With a commitment to serving the most vulnerable populations, the government can improve children’s mental health in the Philippines.

– Youngwook Chun
Photo: Flickr

No One Left Behind: Protecting Disabled Children in Ukraine

Disabled Children in Ukraine
The current crisis in Ukraine has disrupted the lives of millions. Among the affected, disabled children in Ukraine are the most vulnerable to the impact of displacement, abuse and abandonment.

Child Poverty in Ukraine

The United Nations defines poverty not simply as the absence of money but rather as a scarcity of vital resources needed to survive. It is a concept that various internal and external factors influenced. Family income, societal status, natural disasters and armed conflicts all contribute. Before Russia’s invasion, the nation had approximately 90,000 disabled children residing in institutions such as orphanages or boarding schools.

While censuses can measure the monetary value, they cannot attest to the lack of resources available for institutional care facilities. At state institutions, disabled children and their caretakers are experiencing waves of infrastructural deterioration. They are experiencing overcrowding, poor quality of care due to understaffing and shortages in hygienic, medicinal and food supplies.

When all these variables combine, it creates the perfect environment for vulnerable individuals to experience the direst situations. The Arc, an American NGO dedicated to promoting equality and inclusivity, estimates a total of 2.7 million people with disabilities live in Ukraine. Despite the large population, only 4% of Ukrainian infrastructure is reachable to citizens with disabilities. For example, Ukrainian authorities are using its subway system as bomb shelters, which are inaccessible to many disabled citizens.

The Impact of War on Disabled Children

Since the war between Ukraine and Russia began, more than 4 million children have experienced displacement: externally as refugees or internally. Overwhelmed authorities returned thousands of disabled children to their points of origin without assessing how safe they would be in their home environments. This dire course of action significantly impacts impoverished disabled children. Many are returning to areas where they cannot receive proper protection, care or other services needed to survive. The constant internal migration of disabled children in Ukraine further exposes them to dangerous situations; for instance, disabled girls face higher risks of abuse and abandonment.

There is a severe history of war disproportionately impacting the lives of impoverished and disabled people everywhere. This is primarily due to societal stigmas which can prevent families of children with disabilities from receiving appropriate humanitarian action and response. During times of conflict, children with disabilities are more likely to be a part of civilian casualties. This tragedy is due to inadequate and inaccessible resources such as advanced warnings, evacuations, transportation, humanitarian aid, shelters and inclusive services.

Protecting Disabled Children in Ukraine

However, countless organizations have become involved in providing relief. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been working in Ukraine since 1997 and remains the leading organization that provides humanitarian aid for children. UNICEF and its associates have prioritized awareness campaigns to minimize human rights violations against disabled children in Ukraine. Mobile “child protection” teams also emerged to administer mental health resources to displaced children and caregivers. UNICEF also sponsors local Ukrainian associates to accommodate rehabilitation services, accessible technology, inclusive supplies, essential sanitation items and others.

In addition, UNICEF has developed “Blue Dot Hubs” in Ukraine’s bordering countries, taking in refugees. The hubs act as checkpoints where migrating families are equipped with vital information. This is also a space to document, identify and protect unaccompanied or separated children. UNICEF has also built child-friendly spaces. Here, displaced children can be kids and have access to family reunification services and trained professionals like psychologists and social workers. This kind of aid can be directly beneficial for children with disabilities.

As of Monday, August 8, 2022, USAID, in cooperation with the U.S. government, arranged for an additional $4.5 billion in direct aid to the government of Ukraine. The support will help Ukrainian authorities continue to manage infrastructural functions. Meaning, this will include the power to hospitals, humanitarian assistance and compensation to essential workers. The additional relief also provides vital economic and social subsidies. Those who benefit are internally displaced and impoverished citizens and disabled children in Ukraine.

Political figures, celebrities and non-governmental organizations sustain calling for immediate aid and action to protect disabled children in Ukraine and elsewhere. Foreign support and humanitarian assistance continue to funnel essential resources in hopes of counteracting the symptoms of war.

– Ricardo Silva
Photo: Flickr

How the Maasai Community is Tackling Poverty

Maasai Community Tackling Poverty
As the Indigenous Maasai community faces adverse losses of their homes, primarily due to the loss of Indigenous land rights, they face impoverished conditions that affect their survivability. However, community efforts to reclaim their land, ensure their rights and engage in profitable capitalistic ventures are how the Maasai community is tackling poverty.

The Indigenous Maasai Community

Native to the Indigenous Maasai community in Kenya is the Maasai Mara, an open savanna that has provided food, water and land for the pastoralist community for generations. However, a decline in access to and freedom in the Maasai Mara has expressed detrimental outcomes, as poverty rates increase amongst the Maasai community. Chief among the challenges is the increasing loss of Indigenous land rights, with the Maasai community having to leave their lands into unaccustomed livelihoods as tourism takes center stage.

Biodiversity Loss and Poverty

The Indigenous knowledge of the Maasai community on biodiversity conservation is relevant and imperative in contemporary conversations about sustainability. However, with strategies to undermine the full realization of Indigenous land rights, the Maasai community faces a stark reality of poverty. According to Nelson Ole Reiyia, a co-founder of the Nashulai Maasai Conservancy, “we saw a bleak future, threatened by land selling, land grabs for commodification, by tourist preserves, by the collapse of our rivers and grasslands, and by unsustainable fragmentation as electric fences carved up and closed off the wildlife migratory corridors.” In actuality, biodiversity loss driven by the commodification of indigenous ecosystems leads to high poverty rates in the affected indigenous communities.

Therefore, as biodiversity loss strains the ecosystem, further affecting tourism and other economic activities, the marginalization of the Maasai community poses substantial risks to their well-being. Narok County, home to the Maasai Mara National Park, reported an absolute poverty rate of 33.7%, with 12% of the population suffering from food poverty. Additionally, the loss of Indigenous land rights has led to long-term food insecurity, as the members lack the resources to live their pastoralist lifestyle. Arguably, the failure of the government to support their livelihoods and incorporate their indigenous knowledge in biodiversity conservation has worsened their financial conditions, forcing many into poverty.

Indigenous Maasai Community Efforts to Eradicate Poverty

How the Maasai community is tackling poverty is a matter of local, national, and global efforts to realize their indigenous land rights and engage them in commercial activities within the contemporary world. As biodiversity conservation accelerates the recognition of the challenges of the Maasai community, its members are increasingly proactive in promoting biodiversity conservation as they articulate ways to eradicate poverty. The Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is one such drive that has facilitated a river restoration program to provide clean water, an organic village-kitchen garden and fundraising drives to mitigate food insecurity.

Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Eradication

Biodiversity conservation idealizes innovative, nature-based solutions as necessary to mitigating poverty, especially since they incorporate multiple perspectives, including the local. The Maasai community has showcased resilience in guarding existing ecosystems, with their indigenous lifestyles at the root of their knowledge. Through community leadership, the Maasai community in Nashulai Maasai Conservancy has established a management plan based on rotation grazing to capture the advantages of the migratory patterns witnessed in the Maasai Mara. This development plays into the Maasai community’s indigenous knowledge through their age-old customs and traditions. Ultimately, an infusion of current knowledge on agriculture captures the best of both worlds.

Realizing Indigenous Land Rights

Establishing social, political and economic frameworks around indigenous land rights is how the Maasai community is tackling poverty. The Maasai community in Tanzania has encouraged political and legal recognition of Indigenous land rights as they fight against government efforts to evict them from the land. In Kenya, efforts by the Maasai community to establish capitalistic and poverty eradication schemes have been critical in advancing their economic capabilities to retain their land rights. Moreover, funding of conservancies has taken point in driving recognition of the indigenous Maasai community.

With biodiversity loss causing notable challenges in accessing resources, the World Wild Life (WWL) has lauded achieving indigenous land rights as a necessary step in combating climate change and ensuring a financially sustainable future. Notably, collaborations with national and global organizations such as the Nawiri Group to create sustainable practices are how the Maasai community is tackling poverty.

As the Maasai community sustains the indigenous lifestyle, biodiversity conservation through community efforts and the realization of land rights is tackling poverty. However, the onus is on the Kenyan government to accelerate its efforts through policies and laws that preserve their culture and traditions.

– Hanying Wang
Photo: Flickr

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The African Green Revolution Forum Addresses African Food Systems

African Green Revolution Forum
The African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) meeting commenced on September 5, 2022, with nearly 6,500 policymakers, activists, researchers, business leaders and agriculture experts from all over the world in attendance, both in-person and virtual. The forum theme was Grow, Nourish and Reward – Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems, reflecting a dedication to addressing Africa’s growing food insecurity and a need for food system improvements. 

Africa’s Fragile Food System

Due to the economic impact of the coronavirus, 147 million African people are experiencing severe food insecurity, a jump of 20 million from the previously recorded statistics at the start of 2022. In addition, food prices have also increased by 40% due to the coronavirus, making it increasingly difficult for those living in poverty to maintain healthy diets.

According to leaders at the AGRF summit, African food systems are highly susceptible to global changes, such as the war in Ukraine and climate-related environmental changes, as they heavily rely on imported goods to sustain their people. For that reason, the AGRF focused on ways to improve existing agricultural systems and determined what actions to take to help African agriculture evolve and resist the effects of the changes.

AGRF Leaders Define the Issue

Deputy Secretary-General Amna J. Mohammed shared at the AGRF that “Ending hunger requires us to consider food as a system and recognize the range of intersecting challenges that are undermining progress across the spectrum of the Sustainable Development Goals.” 

Within the summit declaration, leaders at the AGRF determined a list of essential topics to confront. The topics include aiding food systems led by countries, solidifying food system visions, pushing for healthier diets and sharing working models and any new information learned with the public.

There was some discourse during the meeting when determining the best solution. Some leaders wanted to take an investment route, while others preferred to take on the issue starting from the bottom of the chain with small farmers. Overall, the AGRF decided to mobilize to collect $200 billion in investments to improve African food systems.

Making the Switch From External Imports to Internal Production

Experts at the AGRF declared that decreasing reliance on imported goods is vital if Africa wants to create a sustainable and independent food system. The experts determined that implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area may aid in breaking barriers that prevent the trade of food from areas with surplus to those with shortages and establish profitable markets for farmers.

AGRF leaders agreed to invest in internal food transportation and retention as a means to decrease import reliance. Ministers pledges to coordinate improvements in the current tariff systems.

Taking Action

Increasing the number of locally produced, nutritious foods cultivated by local farmers is a priority in Africa. Rwanda’s Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) has worked to enhance African food systems and combat malnutrition.

According to PABRA, beans contribute 32% of daily calories and 65% of protein intake in Rwandan homes. The country’s government has prioritized these nutrient-rich bean crops through the Government Crop Intensification Programme. Beans are high in iron and zinc while also being inexpensive, which makes them a cost-effective crop to incorporate into the African food system.

Another organization, the Zimbabwe Pfumvudza Programme, aims to achieve food security by providing local farmers with maize, sunflower, small grain and soya bean seeds with basal and top fertilizer. Following the Conservation Agriculture Principles, local farmers receive training on adequately caring for the crops and government monitoring.

This program is in the early stages of production as they are working on financing and training staff on new agricultural technologies. However, the expected outcome is 75KG of produce per household, adding up to 1 million MT total.

Some criticism of this kind of intervention has been reported by activists at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, arguing that providing resources to farmers will create a dependency. Activists also say that having farmers plant monocultures will take away a farmer’s crop variety, impacting already present food deficits.

Looking Ahead

To stay on track to end chronic hunger in Africa by 2030 and meet the Zero Hunger target in 2015, African Green Revolution Forum attendees acknowledged a need to reshape African food systems and agriculture into a more substantial business model to support malnourished households and small farmers.

With the number of households facing poverty, income inequality and rising food costs, nutrient-rich diets and a steady food supply are unattainable for many African people. Leaders at the AGRF shared that Rwanda’s efforts as a host country and an example of potential improvements that have the potential to benefit food systems in other countries inspired the movement.

– Mikada Green
Photo: Flickr

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The Potential of Using Virtual Reality in Education in Nigeria

Virtual Reality in Education
Education is one of the proven pathways out of poverty, however, education in Nigeria faces several barriers. To improve education in Nigeria, companies are testing virtual reality in classrooms and this is showing promising results. Using virtual reality in education in Nigeria may address several inadequacies in the education system.

The Current Situation

Education in Nigeria suffers from multiple problems. The Nigerian Government allocated 7.2% of its national 2022 budget to education, according to UNICEF. While this marks an improvement from 5.7% in 2021, it still falls short of the recommended 15-20% for education expenditure from national budgets.

The curriculums of Nigerian schools are outdated, Global Citizen highlights, as it is based on the 1981 Universal Basic Education program. “… Imagine teaching kids about floppy disks and 90s programming languages, but in 2020,” a Nigerian university lecturer tells Global Citizen.

According to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), less than half of primary and high school teachers have teaching qualifications. “Nationally-recognized teacher hiring guidelines” do not exist and teaching in private schools is not well-regulated. Fortunately, around 90% of university lecturers in Nigeria have doctoral degrees as of 2021.

Corruption is rampant in the education sector. Global Citizen says that “paid-for certificates… sexual harassment, extortion and leaked questions” are common at all levels of education. In addition, schools allow abuses like flogging.

Violence threatens the attainment of education in certain parts of the country. More than 11,000 schools in Northern Nigeria have closed since December 2020 due to abductions and security issues related to the Boko Haram insurgency. This leaves approximately 1.3 million students without proper access to education.

On top of all that, gender and cultural issues affect children’s education in Nigeria. Girls have lower school attendance rates because of issues like forced marriages and cultural biases related to gender. In the northeastern and northwestern states of Nigeria, “29[%] and 35[%]of Muslim children, respectively, receive Qur’anic education, which does not include basic skills such as literacy and numeracy,” UNICEF reported. All of these issues have contributed to 20.2 million out-of-school children in Nigeria as of 2022.

A Virtual Solution

In December 2018, the UNICEF Innovation Fund invested in 13 startup companies that aim to use technological solutions to improve educational opportunities for children. Nigerian-born Judith Okonkwo founded one of these companies, Imisi 3D. Imisi 3D aims to “provide quality education tools through Virtual Reality (VR).”

Okonkwo believes that virtual reality will offer a more affordable and immersive experience for children. If schools are unable to afford real labs or field trips, students can just put on their headsets and dissect animals or explore the landmarks of specific countries. She also believes VR can help close the education quality gap between public and private schools.

Testing and Results

By March 2020, Imisi 3D had created “three educational VR models” and tested them on students and teachers from a public junior secondary school in the city of Lagos. While some issues came up, like students struggling to locate objects in the VR reality and students struggling to communicate what they saw in the virtual world, both students and teachers enjoyed using virtual reality in education.

In June 2021, the Journal of Education and Practice published an article about a study in Abuja, Nigeria, that tested virtual reality educational programs on 56 students across five junior high schools. The students’ ages ranged from 11 to 16 and girls accounted for 45% of the participants while boys accounted for 55%. The students enjoyed the VR programs and many said that the virtual world felt realistic and gave them a sense of ambiance.

Between the three types of programs the project exposed students to (video games, videos and images), students found the videos most intriguing and effective for learning. When asked which subjects virtual reality proved most helpful for, students cited the top three as geography and environmental studies, history and biology. Most students agreed that virtual reality made learning more fun and effective.

Virtual Reality Learning in Physics

Another study used 61 male students and 43 female students from two secondary schools in the Dutsin-Ma Educational Zone in Katsina State, Nigeria. This study compared students learning physics through conventional teacher-centered methods to those learning through virtual reality.

Just like in Abuja, students preferred virtual reality and had a much better understanding of physics when learning using virtual reality. Importantly, the study showed that female students had as good an understanding of physics as male students. This fact can encourage and instill confidence in females to participate more in education, especially in the underrepresented fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Barriers to Upscaling Virtual Reality in Education

While virtual reality is a successful teaching tool, there are issues the country needs to overcome to implement it on a mass scale. Schools need to have access to the proper hardware and software and establish quality internet connections. Both students and teachers need to have some basic understanding of how the technology works. There are also issues like financial and organizational challenges on the administrative level as well as the ability to create quality VR educational content for students. Despite this, virtual reality is paving an excellent path for the future of education.

Although there are several issues affecting education in Nigeria, the implementation of virtual reality could hold the potential to address some of these issues and set an example for the rest of the world.

– James Harrington
Photo: Flickr

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Miracle Gel Could Save Millions Of Lives In Nepal

Miracle Gel
Since 2022, USAID and partners have been working to prevent infant mortality in developing countries. Chlorhexidine, a chemical element that comes in gel and liquid form, could be a potential solution to infant mortality. Typically used to disinfect human skin and sterilize surgical instruments in hospitals, the substance can also help protect the umbilical stumps of newborns to prevent deadly infections. USAID’s Chlorhexidine “Navi” Care Program applies this technique in rural Nepal. Furthermore, the miracle gel has decreased newborn deaths by 24% and newborn infections by 68% in Nepal.

Susceptibility to Infant Mortality in Nepal

Rural and low-income communities in Nepal are susceptible to high rates of infant mortality and infections that arise from traditional home birthing practices. Mothers sometimes cut umbilical cords with unsanitized house tools and treat the stump with turmeric as an antiseptic. However, these methods can be harmful as evidenced by a neonatal mortality rate of 23 per 1,000 live births in 2020. Furthermore, about 70% of infant mortality cases in Nepal tend to occur within the first year of the infant’s life.

USAID’s “Navi” Care Program

The Navi Care Program began in October 2011. With a budget of $3.9 million, the program was able to expand from 49 operating districts to cover all 75 districts in Nepal by 2014, according to USAID. The Navi Care Program helps in training nurses and healthcare practitioners to use chlorhexidine gel. The program also works to spread awareness about the miracle gel and supports the Ministry of Health and Population in Nepal to integrate it into the newborn and maternal healthcare systems.

Raising Awareness Through SBCC

As remarkable as the miracle gel is in terms of reducing infant mortality, not enough people in Nepal know about the solution and how they can access it. A social behavior change campaign (SBCC) started in 2015 works to ensure that locals learn about chlorhexidine. The campaign spreads information about the usefulness and affordability of the miracle gel through local and national radio and broadcast television.

Monitoring and Evaluating

In 2017, the Navi Care Program prevented nearly 9,600 newborn deaths in Nepal. With the help of the JSI Research & Training Institute, the USAID Navi Care Program has set up mechanisms to document and monitor the impact of the program. Chlorhexidine reports have been integrated into the pre-existing government health management information system (HMIS) and logistics management information system (LMIS). In addition, JSI wanted to monitor the process of program implementation. It uses a comprehensive mechanical system to gather external research and surveys from local women. JSI conducted telephone calls and in-person visits to meet healthcare professionals, pregnant women in their last leg of pregnancy and women with infants under the age of six months. Through this, they have been able to gather feedback and identify gaps in the implementation of the Navi Care Program in Nepal.

The Navi Care Program and miracle gel have become increasingly successful in Nepal and can save millions of lives in other countries too. The discovery and implementation of medical solutions can have a revolutionary impact on all communities, especially those that are susceptible to illnesses and infant mortality.

– Samyudha Rajesh
Photo: Flickr