Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

5 Hip-Hop Artists Fighting Poverty

andrew-bagwell-practice-edit-5-hip-hop-artists-fighting-poverty
Originating from South Bronx, New York City in the late 1970s, the genre of hip-hop is one of the most popular styles of music in the U.S. Artists frequently rap and sing about political issues such as racism, classism and injustice with beats and melodies that engage a wide variety of people. Hip-hop as an art form is more than just music and consists of four key elements: Deejaying, rapping, graffiti painting and B-boying (a form of self-presentation). With fame and fortune, many hip-hop artists have also added charity to their repertoire. Here are five big-named hip-hop artists fighting poverty.

1. Lil Wayne

In 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, killing about 220,000 people and leaving thousands fending for their lives. Lil Wayne joined stars like Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson and more to record “We Are the World 25 For Haiti,” a re-record of Michael Jackson’s iconic song. Additionally, Lil Wayne has funded programs centered around mentoring youth and has helped rebuild a park in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.

2. Eminem

In 2011, superstar Eminem released a video asking attendees of the V Festival to donate to Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, and he further tweeted his support of the nonprofit during his tour in 2014. Eminem also started the Marshall Mathers Foundation in 2002, a nonprofit dedicated to helping at-risk youth and the disadvantaged in Detroit.

3. Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar, currently one of the most famous hip-hop artists, has a long line of philanthropic work. In the U.S., Lamar has donated thousands of dollars to the programs for the Compton Unified School District, the very place he grew up. Additionally, in 2014, he went on a five-stop world tour, the proceeds of which went to Habitat for Humanity. In 2016, Lamar headlined the Global Citizen Festival, which helped fight gender inequality and extreme poverty, and provided increased access to education. The artist has also donated thousands to Red Cross.

4. The Game

Hip-hop artist The Game started The Robin Hood Project, an organization that aims to give back to people in need through donations. He came up with the idea after meeting a Nigerian immigrant in Australia who lived with 20 people in a one-bedroom apartment. He has also donated $1 million to Flint, Michigan in 2016 to help their water crisis.

5. Ludacris

In 2013, rapper and hip-hop artist Ludacris donated $50,000 to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The natural disaster killed more than 5,000 people and injured many more, and the musician felt compelled to share his wealth with those in need. He has also funded organizations that combat cancer, at-risk youth, AIDS and human trafficking.

Hip-hop artists have a history of rapping about current events, and their efforts of advocacy do not just stop at writing and performing songs. These artists have donated thousands of dollars to different organizations, some of them even going as far as starting their nonprofits, showing that anyone with the power to help can make the world a better place.

– Yashavi Upasani
Photo: Flickr

3 African Businesses Fighting Fast Fashion Waste

Fast Fashion Waste
Across Africa, there are massive piles of unwanted, low-quality clothing sporting familiar brand names like Target, H&M, Shein and more polluting waterways, village centers and fueling a dangerous resale business. Many blame the fast fashion industry for fueling this issue and creating immense waste, which often arrives in developing countries as donations from more developed nations. African-owned fashion brands are providing a solution to fast fashion waste currently.

According to Merriam-Webster, fast fashion is “an approach to the design, creation and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.” Mckinsey-Sustainability, a sustainability consulting firm, found that from 2000 to 2014, clothing production doubled and people began keeping clothes for half as long. According to the World Economic Forum, 85% of all textiles become waste each year.

Results of Fast Fashion

The results of the practices are evident. When Western European countries ship their unwanted garments to West African nations, many cannot be resold or worn in their shipped condition. As a result, in Accra, Ghana’s capital, a 20-meter-high cliff has formed from unutilized clothes on the shoreline of the city’s Korle Lagoon.

The usable clothing from the shipments usually resells in large clothing markets. It is largely the poor and desperate, often young women, who have to do the back-breaking work of carrying bins of clothing from stall to stall needed to run these markets. One worker in Accra, who had traveled there from northern Ghana, reported making only $4.50 a day moving clothes. The worker also stated that she even needed to send some of it back to her family.

In June 2022, “fast fashion giant” Shein announced that it would be donating $15 million to workers in the Accra resale industry, drawing mixed reviews from the public.

Beyond donations, some African businesses have begun actively fighting the pileup of wasted textiles. Here are three African fashion brands creating change:

1. NKWO

NKWO is fighting the modern world’s desire for “more.” It is a Nigerian-based company that uses slow fashion techniques and locally-sourced materials to celebrate traditional African artisanship and extract the most from fast fashion waste. Among its products, NKWO primarily sells a mix of shirts and dresses made of a patchwork of scraps and patches of unwanted jeans.

NKWO also has a commitment to the concept of zero waste. It has invented an innovative African textile called “Dekala cloth,” which uses a modernized method of strip-weaving to create high-quality garments from bits and scraps of clothes that would otherwise be thrown out. The innovative designs and practices have earned features at Lagos Fashion Week.

2. Suave Kenya

Suave Kenya is an East African fashion brand that uses materials taken from last-chance clothing to create stylish bags. It focuses primarily on repurposing denim and the company incorporates a variety of recycled materials, from dress shirt silk to worker jacket leather into their backpacks, totes and more.

The Gikomba Market in Nairobi inspires the brand, which is the largest open-air flea market in East Africa. Similar to the markets of Accra, fast fashion waste goes there either for the market to sell or condemn to a landfill. Suave Kenya chooses to save as many textiles as possible and reintegrate them into entirely different products, showcasing the numerous possibilities of recycled textiles.

3. Ahluwalia

Visiting Aswani Market in Panipat, India, which is “the global capital of recycling garments” and seeing the heaps of clothing waste in Lagos, Nigeria inspired Priya Ahluwalia to create Ahluwalia. The fashion brand combines its founder’s Nigerian and Indian heritage to create designer clothing out of a mix of recycled, surplus and natural materials. London Fashion Week and Vogue have shown Ahluwalia’s clothes, bringing revitalized fashion from the developing world to the global stage of high fashion.

On top of its dedication to fighting fast fashion waste, Ahluwalia makes all of its clothing in woman-owned factories. It has also produced collections in partnership with SEWA Delhi, an Indian women’s union.

Looking Ahead

At the moment, brands fighting fast fashion waste are focused on creating designer and luxury goods. Many of the listed items cost well over $100. The products and brands are out of reach for many, especially the 80% of Africans who live on less than $5.50 per day, because of their high cost.

The lack of affordable clothing made from recycled materials leaves ample space for new businesses to truly put a dent in the unwanted clothes piling up in the developing world. Until then, these businesses provide a model for actionable solutions to fighting waste, a showcase of African artisanship and quality opportunities for African makers.

– Ryan Morton
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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First Steps to Solving the First Nations Water Crisis in Canada

First Nations Water Crisis
Local health officials issue a boil water advisory when the water in a community is contaminated. When issued, it means the tap water is no longer safe to use unless boiled for at least one minute and buying bottled water for consumption is advisable. On June 20, 2022, the Neskantaga First Nation in Ontario reached the 10,000th day of being under a drinking water advisory issued by authorities. Twenty-seven years have passed since authorities first issued the advisory in 1995 after the water treatment plant failed to produce safe drinking water. The Neskantaga First Nation holds the record for the longest boil water advisory in the nation and is a stark example of the First Nations water crisis that has been ongoing for decades.

Unfulfilled Promises

In 2015, Justin Trudeau made a campaign promise to bring clean water to Indigenous communities and end the First Nations water crisis in a span of five years. However, according to The Guardian, the deadline set by Trudeau passed with 52 advisories still active across 33 communities in Canada as of April 2021.

For decades, Indigenous communities have been forced to create and manage their own water treatment systems, which often means procuring bottled water on their own or simply using the contaminated water if the prices become too steep. Countless families, especially those living in areas where the water has traces of E. coli or uranium, are more susceptible to skin diseases, gastrointestinal issues and more.

Decades of inaction from the federal government and lack of adequate funding prompted chiefs and leaders of the First Nations to collectively sue the federal government in 2019 for failing to provide clean water in a country rich with water resources.

The Good News

According to The New York Times, the Federal Court of Canada ruled in favor of the First Nations and approved a legal settlement requiring the government to invest at least $6 billion CAD toward solving the First Nations water crisis in the next nine years. The government will provide compensation of $1.5 billion CAD to around 140,000 Indigenous people for the damages arising from contaminated water.

Chief Emily Whetung, a lawyer leading the Curve Lake First Nation, mentioned that many communities will be unable to feel the benefits of the settlement, especially those who rely predominantly on private wells. However, she still expressed her excitement at this legal success. “I’m just so thrilled,” she said to The New York Times. “Now that we’ve turned this corner, we can keep going down this road and ensure that we get access to clean drinking water for all First Nations.”

Activism in Indigenous Communities

However, other activists, such as Autumn Peltier, are also doing all they can to ensure Trudeau’s promise does not become an empty one. Her influence started in 2016 when she called out Trudeau publicly during the Assembly of First Nations for his failure to protect the water in her communities. According to APTN News, in the few moments she had to speak to Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada, she said, “I am very unhappy with the choices you’ve made.” Additionally, Trudeau said, “I understand that.” Trudeau responded with a commitment: “I will protect the water.”

Since then, Peltier has dedicated her work to ensuring Prime Minister Trudeau’s promise became reality. She became the chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation and began a career advocating for the importance of clean water, consistently calling Trudeau out online for the lack of progress toward his promise. Having spoken with organizations such as the United Nations, she has also received nominations for the International Children’s Peace Prize on multiple occasions.

Looking Ahead

Although the path to completely solving the First Nations water crisis may be difficult, the legal settlement is a critical first step to bringing clean water to the Indigenous communities of Canada. With the help of activists placing pressure on the federal government, hopefully, it will just be a matter of time before the people of First Nations can enjoy the same right as all other Canadians: the right to clean, safe water.

– Emilie Zhang
Photo: Flickr

Myanmar’s Internet Shutdowns Exacerbate Poverty

Myanmar’s Internet Shutdowns
Myanmar’s community and economy suffer from the ongoing impacts of the military coup that occurred on February 1, 2021. Since 2021, Myanmar has imposed internet shutdowns in the country. In 2021, internet shutdowns across the world led to a global loss of $5.45 billion. Myanmar accounts for a significant portion of this loss, as Myanmar’s internet shutdowns in 2021 cost $2.8 billion. The junta regime established changes to the legal code that negate basic international human rights protections. This includes the amendment of the Electronic Transaction Law. With this, the current government in Myanmar prevents the “free flow of information and criminalizes the dissemination of information through cyberspace.”

Myanmar’s Internet Shutdowns

To curb protests, the military junta instigated total internet blackouts and social media blocks as well as slowed internet speeds to levels where only simple text-based communication was possible. The enforced shutdowns impacted several networks, “including international operators and cellular services.” As a result, people cannot access important COVID-19 information, businesses that rely on the internet cannot operate and reporters cannot give news updates. 

Considering the imposed internet outage cost Myanmar $2.8 billion in 2021, this amounts to the greatest economic loss worldwide in this category. The nation’s weak economy is “30% smaller than it might have been in the absence of COVID-19 and the February 2021 coup,” according to the World Bank.

Effect on Poverty

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated the decline of 1.6 million jobs in 2021. The situation has led some Myanmarese people to resort to exchanging their mobile phones for food. The regime increased internet prices, making online schools and digital medical services financially burdensome or unaffordable.

Business Repercussions

Businesses rely on the internet to maximize sales and remain competitive. In Myanmar, however, the disrupted, costly and slow internet contributes to the decline in overall income and employment. For example, internet outages prevented farms from researching prices online and devastated thousands of small internet businesses. Low income and unemployment perpetuate low domestic demand. An insufficient consumer base feeds the stagnation or failure of local industries. The overall instability in Myanmar has affected businesses‘ “operations, logistics, confidence and appetite to invest.”

USAID’s Contributions

Despite restrictions, Myanmar’s internet penetration continues to grow in part due to international efforts. The U.S. has provided close to $500 million in aid to struggling citizens within Myanmar as well as Myanmarese refugees in other nations. This assistance also involves $24 million worth of COVID-19-related aid. 

Through USAID, the U.S. is helping communities in Myanmar. To help alleviate the repression of basic freedoms, “USAID has trained 255 independent media outlets on unbiased reporting [and] strengthened the capacity of 235 civil society organizations to advocate for democratic reforms.”

In addition, USAID’s new Digital Strategy aims to empower millions to rise out of poverty by leveraging digital technology to ignite economic development in countries. The Digital Strategy aims to “improve development and humanitarian assistance outcomes through the use of digital technology” while encouraging “inclusive growth, [fostering] resilient and democratic societies and [empowering] all, including the most vulnerable.”

Remedial social investment is necessary for Myanmar’s sharply contracting economy. Self-sustainable poverty reduction is not yet a reality as military leadership reversed efforts toward democratic reforms and expelled freedoms to the internet.

– Anna Zawistowski
Photo: Flickr

Top Global Diplomats React to Myanmar’s Military Junta

Myanmar's Military Junta
This article will cover the recent political executions by Myanmar’s military junta, as well as reactions from the international community and demonstrations that are still ongoing, despite the possibilities of further executions. Burmese hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw was among those the Burmese government executed, due to his support of the resistance. These political executions were the first ones that Myanmar had in decades.

Burmese Resistance to the Junta

The National Unity Government (NUG) has spearheaded Burmese efforts to oust the military junta from power. It was also the first organization to call for international condemnation of the nation’s recent executions.

United Nations Statements

U.N. Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the executions, calling them “cruel” and “regressive.” The military junta has killed more than 2,100 Burmese citizens since it came into power, which has led many U.N. leaders to call for formal international sanctioning. The U.N. also urged Myanmar’s military junta to release political prisoners that have been awaiting trials via military tribunal. However, similar U.N. pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Since the junta took over in a 2021 coup d’état, the military courts sentenced 115 Burmese adults and two children to death.

A Bipartisan Condemnation from the US

Both prominent Republican and Democratic leaders in the American government condemned the junta’s recent executions. In its official statement, the White House labeled the recent incident as a “heinous execution.” Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for sanctions on the Burmese energy sector, as well as further actions from Myanmar’s neighboring countries. In a U.S. Department of State press statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also criticized the military junta for its “sham trials” of pro-democracy activists. American officials have also urged the Chinese government to play a more active role in promoting peace among the junta and Burmese citizens.

European Response

The European Union, along with several other industrialized nations, including Australia, Canada and South Korea released a statement condemning the junta’s rule. Before the political executions, the EU sanctioned junta officials and required European energy companies to withdraw their operations in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s Neighbors Respond

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an inter-governmental organization that Myanmar is a member of, released a statement calling the executions reprehensible, as well as urging for dialogue among the Burmese. The ASEAN has also banned Myanmar’s junta officials from attending events that the association hosts. In contrast to the ASEAN’s strong rebuke of Myanmar’s executions, the Chinese government has yet to make a statement condemning the actions. However, China did push for peace talks between the junta and Burmese resistance groups in early July 2022, weeks before the political executions. By supplying weapons and giving the nation its political support, China has aligned with the coup leaders in Myanmar.

The Push for Further Action

Although many nations have placed sanctions on Myanmar, there have been no formally coordinated strategies put in place to sanction Myanmar and punish those in power for their breach of human rights. According to the World Bank’s July 2022 estimates, approximately 40% of Burmese citizens live in poverty. Economic contractions that occurred after the 2021 coup could have long-term consequences since the Burmese economy experienced an 18% contraction during the 2021 fiscal year. Myanmar’s slip away from democracy has caused economic turmoil and the juntas depriving of human rights is an issue that the international community must address.

– Salvatore Brancato
Photo: Flickr

The Growing Production of Energy in Niger

Energy in Niger
Niger is a geographically diverse country. The Northern stretch of the nation is located deep in the Sahara Desert, but as one traverses southward, the desert transitions into a lush savannah. Still suffering from the effects of the 2021-2022 Global Energy Crisis; however, Niger has one of the lowest rates of access to electricity in the world, as only 19.2% of the population has access to electricity, giving energy in Niger a small reputation. Despite this, due to Niger’s vast uranium deposits and its great potential to harvest large amounts of solar power, Niger might be a dormant energy powerhouse in the making, with energy in Niger potentially becoming one of the largest industries in the Sahara.

Nuclear Potential

In Niger, uranium exports make up a whopping 5% of the country’s GDP and supply 5% of the country’s tax revenues. Also, Niger has the second highest uranium reserve in Africa, barely behind South Africa. However, at the current moment, Niger cannot make great use of its vast uranium deposits and exports almost half to France instead of using the uranium themselves. Energy in Niger is therefore benefitting other countries rather than the homeland.

Although Niger exports most of its uranium to France, it might be able to make great use of its uranium deposits in the near future. This is because of a new project that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has undertaken. In coordination with the Government of Niger, this project has committed to developing robust nuclear power infrastructure in Niger. According to a recent report, there are 19 possible issues regarding nuclear power in Niger that, if fixed, could pave the way to developing nuclear power plants that would be able to provide electricity to the large numbers of people in the country who do not currently have access to electricity.

Solar Potential

While sounding preposterous, many have considered placing millions of solar panels in the Sahara Desert. According to recent estimates, if just 1.2% of the Sahara Desert has solar panels, the panels would generate enough energy for the entire world. The Sahara covers 80% of Niger’s 489,000 square miles of land, and the entire desert is 3,550,000 square miles. This means that if just under 9% of Niger had panels, energy in Niger would make up enough solar power to provide electricity to the entire world.

Of course, covering a large swath of desert with solar panels is not as easy as it sounds, with issues such as sand covering the panels or light bouncing off the panels interfering with energy production. However, various creative solutions are already undergoing in desert regions with solar panels to counteract these problems. For example, the Noor Solar Power Plant in Morocco, which will eventually cover around 30 square kilometers of the Sahara, uses many mirrors in a circle formation to reflect light onto a receiver in the middle of the circle. That receiver then converts that light into heat before converting it into electricity. Because these materials take hours to cool off, they continue to produce electricity even after sunset.

Hope For the Future

Although nearly 80% of people in Niger do not have access to electricity, this might change soon. This is because Niger has the potential to become one of Africa’s, if not one of the world’s biggest energy powerhouses through its vast nuclear-based resources and its large amount of solar energy potential.

Since energy in Niger is already expanding through the potential development of nuclear power plants through a project that the International Atomic Energy Agency undertook, the days of Niger being a country where less than a quarter of its citizens have access to electricity might come to a close very soon.

– Humzah Ahmad
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Politics and Poverty Reduction in Bolivia

Poverty Reduction in Bolivia
Although Bolivia does show signs of growth, economic and political difficulties have marred its few successes. In addition to having one of the highest rates of poverty in South America, corruption, political persecution and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hamper Bolivia. These issues distract from efforts to improve the lives of the nearly 4 million Bolivians living in poverty in 2018, politicizing programs like the “Patriotic 2025 Bicentennial Agenda” which is supposed to work toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, the very people who should be ending poverty are hampering poverty reduction in Bolivia.

Corruption in Bolivia

With Bolivia experiencing political turmoil, its politicians have often squandered the limited resources available to the nation. In 2017, ex-president Evo Morales built a $7 million museum dedicated to himself in the town of Orinoca, where 90% of the population lives below the poverty line. Interim-president Jeanine Añez’s brief administration included several examples of corruption, with both her Interior Minister and Health Minister receiving a charge of graft, the latter making a profit off of government-bought ventilators during the pandemic.

This has meant that funds intended to fight poverty in Bolivia have disappeared. A 2021 evaluation of the previous year’s government budget found that actual spending on public programs was always significantly lower than the expected amount, suggesting widespread corruption. The budget has also seen a decrease in funds appropriated for public services, further hampering anti-poverty efforts. Given this, Bolivia has been incredibly fortunate to see its poverty rate decline as dramatically as it has over the last 10 decades, but this is mostly due to an unsustainable boom in oil and natural gas. Institutional weaknesses thus present a major challenge to an economy reliant on volatile resource extraction.

Protests in Bolivia

Deepening Bolivia’s woes are the ongoing dispute between Bolivia’s socialist party, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), and the country’s opposition parties. In 2019, protests erupted over whether incumbent socialist president Evo Morales could run for an unconstitutional fourth term, as well as the fraudulent nature of the election which gave him a sweeping victory. Following MAS’ return to power in 2020 after an interim government, and the election of Morales’ ally Luis Arce as President, many of those that participated in the interim government received charges of sedition. This includes President Jeanine Añez, who received a 10-year sentence in prison for staging a “coup” despite not having involvement with the 2019 protests. The upheaval and resources wasted on these political fights have ground Bolivia’s economic growth to a halt, with the pandemic only accentuating the country’s dire situation.

The International Response

These breaches of democracy have also drawn the attention of other international actors, straining Bolivia’s already tense geopolitical situation. President Arce attacked the Organization of American States (OAS) for interfering with the 2019 elections, to which the OAS responded by reaffirming it only documented instances of fraud and was concerned about the persecution of MAS’ political opponents. Similarly, the European Union and the U.S. State Department have expressed disapproval over the politically motivated imprisonments.

All of this prevents international aid from reaching the struggling nation, handicapping efforts to fight poverty in Bolivia. Following President Morales’ election in 2005, he expelled the U.S. ambassador and rejected assistance from USAID, permanently removing the latter by 2013. Morales chose to focus on short-term economic growth and reducing inequality, leveraging the country’s oil and gas resources to make significant reductions in the poverty rate by 2015. However, it is uncertain whether Bolivia’s extraction-based economy will be successful in the long run, or whether it made a mistake in shutting the door to aid.

Poverty Reduction in Bolivia

Even amid economic and political uncertainty, progress is occurring to promote poverty reduction in Bolivia. President Luis Arce’s government has seen a reduction in the extreme poverty rate from 13.7% to 11.1% in 2021, suggesting the economy might be rebounding after the pandemic. In addition, the yearly ‘National Report’ emphasizes Bolivia’s commitment to 13 ‘pillars’ of development, including the end of extreme poverty and investment in public health. With the report stressing Bolivia’s commitment to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fighting poverty may be making a comeback in public policy.

– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Unsplash

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Parents’ Role in Improving Global Education

Global Education
More than 420 million people would be able to escape poverty if everyone around the world attended primary and secondary education, cutting global poverty numbers in half, UNESCO estimated in a 2017 analysis. If all children in low-income countries learned to read, 171 million people would rise out of extreme poverty. While achieving high-quality universal education might seem like a lofty goal, simply giving parents more information about their children’s education has proven to be a straightforward yet effective method of improving global education outcomes.

Report Cards Improve Test Performance

One 2017 study that the American Economic Review published examined the effect of school report cards on educational outcomes in Pakistan. Pakistan is a lower-middle-income country where only 58% of people aged 15 and older can read and write. By the end of third grade, not even a third of students can write a correct sentence. For the study, the researchers, who consisted of two American professors and one World Bank researcher, randomly chose the students of 56 Pakistani towns to receive report cards while students in 56 other towns did not receive report cards. This study delivered two-page report cards to the families of children in selected towns. The report cards contained the child’s test scores, information about their child’s performance relative to other students and information about the performance of the child’s school.

To test the effect of the report cards, the researchers compared standardized test scores at the time of the report card to scores on the same tests a year later. The researchers found that, in towns where parents had received report cards, students’ scores increased 42% more than students’ scores in towns where parents had not received report cards. In addition to improving performance on standard tests, the report cards also led to a 4.5% increase in elementary school enrolment and a 17% decrease in private school costs. The researchers suspect that these improvements are due to increased parent engagement with education due to receiving the report cards. Despite the notable impact of this intervention, the total cost of creating and distributing report cards was only $1 per student.

Attendance Reports Prevent Dropouts

In 2018, the World Bank published a study on the efficacy of different techniques for improving school attendance. The World Bank conducted its research in Mozambique, a low-income African Country where the literacy rate is only 60.7%. Fewer than one in five children in Mozambique attend secondary education and just 33.2% complete primary education. One of the techniques the researchers tested for improving school attendance rates was creating attendance reports for parents.

The researchers included 2,793 participants from 173 schools in their study. All the participants were girls in fifth and sixth grade at the start of the study. Study participants placed in the group with attendance reports would get a sheet indicating which days they had attended school to give their parents at the end of each week. To measure the effect of these attendance reports, observers would randomly check in on schools to see if the students participating in the study were present that day.

After three years of data collection, the researchers concluded that the weekly attendance reports did increase school attendance. For students who received attendance reports, attendance increased by 6.9% compared to students who did not receive an attendance report. The researchers also found that these attendance reports were just as effective at increasing attendance as a monetary incentive offered to parents.

Applying the Science

More than 600 million children around the world are unable to gain basic reading and math skills, UNICEF reported. While many of these children lack access to education, approximately two-thirds of them are in school and still are unable to gain a baseline education. Education access encompasses not only access to education but access to effective education. Research indicates that taking simple steps to improve parent information about schools by giving parents report cards about their child’s and school’s performance or giving them attendance reports contributes toward improving global education outcomes. Providing 600 million children with quality education will doubtlessly be a challenging task but, as this research indicates, simply providing parents more information about their child’s education could be a meaningful yet simple and low-cost part of the solution.

– Anna Inghram
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

The Fight Against Non-Communicable Diseases in Indonesia

Healthcare in Indonesia
The COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to the spread of airborne diseases and the vulnerability of the human population, but in everyday lives, another form of disease continues to haunt humans. These are non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are typically long-lasting and do not have a specific cause. The most common NCDs are cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer and diabetes. The cause of death for individuals around the globe remains NCDs in 71% of all cases, an alarming statistic that becomes more apparent considering most of these deaths are premature. Of those dying from NCDs, 85% are located in “low- and middle-income countries.” The prevalence of these types of diseases in Indonesia and other countries harms specifically those living in poverty. Among numerous other challenges in their daily lives, people do not have the resources for medical treatment or must utilize all of their remaining resources for treatments. The prevention of NCDs prevails as an important policy goal to implement in the fight against decreasing the number of deaths associated with NCDs and reducing poverty.

Non-Communicable Diseases in Indonesia

Located in Southeast Asia and consisting of numerous islands, Indonesia boasts a tropical climate. Indonesia is one of the most populous countries in the world, behind China, India and the United States. The demographics of the population are young with 42% under the age of 25. About 10% of the population lives in poverty.

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing into focus some of the pre-existing health conditions that remain health risks when contracting the virus, it is important to address the concerns of high rates of NCDs and improve health care in Indonesia. According to the World Bank, NCDs caused 76% of deaths in Indonesia in 2019, a number that continues to rise over time. This is above the rate of 71% of deaths that NCDs have caused in the world, meaning that people must pay close attention to the risks of NCDs within this population.

Project Hope

In 1958, a Navy veteran, Dr. William B. Walsh founded an organization called Project Hope. His service in World War II inspired him to address health concerns that he encountered during wartime. The organization’s work started on a restored ship called SS Hope which delivered healthcare around the world, especially during the Cold War. Now, Project Hope operates by training the local medical community of volunteers in more than 20 countries. Over its 60 years of service, the organization trained more than 2 million individuals and delivered $2 billion in resources to communities in need.

To respond to the problem of NCDs in Indonesia, Project Hope assists with diagnosis and education about the issue, even utilizing remote training during the COVID-19 pandemic with a partnership with Brown University. The organization works especially hard on the ability to diagnose patients because it predicts many cases of NCDs remain undiagnosed. This realization is relevant because it assists in knowing how to respond and treat diseases within the population, the ability to prevent certain diseases and asserting control over diseases rather than simply reacting to emergencies involving one’s NCD. The organization educates doctors on diabetes and delves into issues related to asthma by training medical professionals and providing information on the detention of asthma. Project Hope helped more than 11,000 people seek treatment for their diseases, transforming the field of health care in Indonesia.

Project Hope’s Larger Impact

Apart from its work in NCDs, Project Hope also assists in other areas of health care in Indonesia. The organization works to address the deaths of mothers and infants, which largely occur in live births and due to malnutrition, respectively. Through health programs for mothers and children and “monthly wellness clinics,” local communities work together to address maternal and child health. Similarly, Project Hope responds to disasters within the region. For example, after the tsunami in Sulawesi in 2018, Project Hope assisted in providing insecticide to prevent malaria, providing water through new purification systems and checking for NCDs in the population.

The range of work that Project Hope completes in health care in Indonesia is broad but equally important. Through its main project of addressing NCDs in the region, improving maternal and child care and emergency response, the organization continues to make a large impact on the region after more than 60 years.

– Kaylee Messick
Photo: Flickr

Finland’s Sand Battery Heats a Small Town

Finland’s Sand Battery
Kankaanpää, a small town in Western Finland, is using sand to store heat from renewable energy sources to provide homes with better and more cost-effective heating during winter. Finland’s sand battery is the first of its kind to be fully functional and comprises thousands of cubic meters of sand. The sand battery may replace some of the energy drawn from the power grid and provide heating throughout the five-month-long Finnish winters.

How it Works

Polar Night Energy developed this sand battery and installed it at a power plant site that Vatajankoski, a green energy supplier in Kankaanpää, Finland, operates. It consists of a “4 x 7-meter steel container” that holds hundreds of tons of sand. Using renewable energy, the sand heats to about 500 degrees Celsius before it is “stored for use in the local district heating system,” said Energy Storage News.

The battery uses builder’s sand, which is a kind of rough and ready grain that stands as a cost-efficient power storing apparatus during times of need. The sand itself is heated using green, renewable power, mainly solar panels and wind turbines. The sand battery will bring the citizens of Kankaanpää, and soon all Finns, a better, greener, more cost-effective heating system, especially now that the war in Ukraine is affecting the importing of gas and electricity.

The Impact of Russia’s Halt on Energy Supplies

In a 2020 poll asking Finns about heating costs, 38% of Finnish consumers said their household’s heating costs represent a noteworthy economic difficulty and many other consumers reported “compromising their living comfort to save money on heating.” More so, most of Finland’s gas and energy comes via imports from the surrounding countries, mainly Russia. However, in May 2022, Russia halted both its gas and electricity supplies to Finland.

The first halt of the electricity supply came shortly after Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After these sanctions, Russia declared that all “unfriendly” countries wanting to continue receiving supplies of electricity and gas from Russia would have to pay using the Russian ruble, “a move the EU considers blackmail,” said the BBC.

As Finland deliberated joining NATO, Russia halted the supply of electricity to Finland and even threatened retaliatory action if Finland applies to join NATO. Then, on May 21, 2022, after Finland applied to join NATO, the Russian energy utility Gazprom affirmed it fully terminated any exports of goods to Finland. This halt also came after payment disagreements between the two countries due to Finland declining to make payments for gas in Russian currency.

Thus, since Finland gets most of its gas from Russia, concerns have risen “over sources of heat and light, especially with the long, cold Finnish winter on the horizon,” the BBC reports. Nonetheless, Finland’s state-owned gas and electricity companies confirmed that they will continue importing gas into the system through the Balticconnector entry point. The nation has plans to bring Finland’s sand battery technology to a larger, nationwide scale in the coming months, which may alleviate the heating expenses in the coming winter.

The Potential Benefits

Bringing Finland’s sand battery in Kankaanpää to such a large scale would make a great difference but it would come with certain challenges. For example, due to the nature of the technology, Finnish researchers have yet to find a way to keep efficiency from falling whenever the “sand is used to just return power to the electricity grid.”

But, even with these obstacles, the storing of this green energy long-term represents a significant opportunity for Finland’s textile, food and pharmaceutical industries that traditionally rely on fossil fuels. Due to power stations operating for several hours during the coldest months of winter, heating is “extremely expensive,” said Elina Seppänen, an energy and climate specialist, to the BBC.

Finland’s sand battery could be the solution to the heating problem and provide a more flexible way of using and storing heat that “would help a lot in terms of expense” while contributing to Finland’s transition toward more renewable sources of gas and electricity.

– Marcela Agreda L.
Photo: Flickr