Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Games Done Quick Generates Millions for Global Healthcare

Games Done Quick
Crammed into the convention center of a suburban Minneapolis DoubleTree Hilton, thousands sat in a room filled with chairs, a pair of projection screens, a TV, a few gaming consoles and PCs, a stack of prizes and a couch, listening to the clicks of keyboards and joysticks over seven days. Competitors, many of whom were unknowns sitting among the crowd, trained for years, memorizing specific levels paths and honing their muscle memories, in anticipation for this week. Around the world, millions watch the lightning-fast action online, shooting comments into a scrolling chat box and sending in donations to fill up a green bar at the bottom of the screen. This is the scene of a typical Games Done Quick event. Generally, people are here for two things: to see video games — from classics like Super Mario Bros. to newcomers like Elden Ring — finished in record-breaking times and to generate millions of dollars toward saving lives.

About Games Done Quick (GDQ)

Games Done Quick, also known simply as GDQ, is a series of live-streamed and in-person charity events built around marathons of video game speed runs. Speedrunning is a popular style of gaming where players attempt to complete sections or entire games as quickly as possible — sometimes using hacks and/or glitches to achieve better times. GDQ typically regularly hosts two major events throughout the year: Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick.

Though these events focus on speed-running video games, GDQ’s central goal is raising money for nonprofits. In the past, it has even controversially switched which games participants would play mid-event in hopes of maximizing the amount of viewership and donations. Over the nine years that GDQ has been hosting events, they have raised a total of $34 million toward charities that fight cancer, provide education to women in the developing world, and give health care to those around the world who would otherwise not receive it.

GDQ and Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide medical care to anyone who needs it. According to its website, it works in more than 70 countries. Typically, the organization works mostly in conflict zones, areas where natural disasters have hit and locations where access to traditional health care is either limited or nonexistent.

Recently, Doctors Without Borders has been involved in the global response to COVID-19 by supporting developing nations’ overwhelmed healthcare systems, refugee search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea and providing displaced peoples from the Lake Chad region of Africa medical attention as the area experiences a period of violent conflict.

In July 2022, GDQ hosted its annual Summer Games Done Quick, benefitting Doctors Without Borders. It was its first in-person event since 2019, having switched to an online format during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, viewers watching on the popular live streaming platform Twitch donated more than $3 million to Doctors Without Borders. According to its website, GDQ claims to be the largest event in the world raising money for Doctors Without Borders.

The Future of GDQ and Live Streaming for Charity

In August 2022, GDQ plans to host “Flame Fatales,” which will feature a cast of female-only speedrunners and benefit the Malala Foundation. The Malala Foundation is a nonprofit advocating for the funding of secondary education for girls around the world and supporting education activists.

Outside of GDQ, Twitch, among other live streaming services, has served as a platform for numerous other fundraisers. These include large-scale, produced events, such as GDQ, but also individual streamers encouraging their viewership to donate to charity while watching.

In 2021, French streamers ZeratoR and Dach hosted Z Event 2021 on Twitch. By collaborating with other popular streamers, they raised a record-breaking $11.5 million to fight world hunger through the organization Action Against Hunger.

Throughout his career, individual streamer Nick28T has driven those watching his gaming streams to donate more than $200,000 to the BC Cancer Foundation, which funds cancer research, advocacy and care for patients living in British Columbia.

In 2020 alone, Twitch reported that streamers across the site managed to raise over $81 million for charity. In response to the popularity of charity streams, Twitch has invested in specially made tools for philanthropy. It has partnered with Tiltify, a service that provides streamers with fundraising overlays, donation tracking tools and more. The partnership represents the company’s attempt to compete with other platforms like YouTube and Facebook to host these massive charity drives as more fundraisers choose to go digital.

– Ryan Morton
Photo: Flickr

Elderly Poverty in India 

Elderly Poverty in India
By 2027, India, the second most populated country in the world, will likely surpass China as the world’s most populated country by adding around 273 million people to its existing population, according to a U.N. report in 2019. Accordingly, the elderly population of India would also increase over the period – from 138 million in 2021 to 194 million in 2031 – the National Statistical Office (NSO) reported. With this growing elderly population, elderly poverty has become a pressing social issue in the country. In a report that the Agewell Foundation in 2021 produced, more than 90 million of the Indian elderly do not have financial security. This article will explore the reasons for elderly poverty in India and some initiatives of the Indian government.

Reasons for Elderly Poverty in India

For elderly Indians, the three important reasons contributing to their poverty are the incomplete welfare system, new family structure and social disparity. Incomplete welfare system for the elderly – While the social welfare system is essential for the elderly to access comfort, not all Indian elder citizens can enjoy that. The main issue of the system is that it does not provide affordable health care. Some reasons for elderly poverty in India are:

  • New Family Structure – The traditional joint family structure in Indian society is fundamental in protecting the economic and social security of elderly citizens. In other words, for Indians, looking after the elderly was previously a value and norm. However, as society developed and people became more occupied, this changed the Indian elderly’s living conditions – more elderly living alone instead of having a family member to take care of them. According to a study by Dr. Abhay B Mane, the number of Indian elderly living by themselves or with their partners increased from 9% in 1992 to 18.7% in 2006.
  • Social Disparity – In India, elderly poverty tends to fall upon women more than men, in particular, women who are widowed. In the World Widows Report from the Loomba Foundation in 2015, there are nearly five crores of widowed women in India. These women suffer discrimination and marginalization in society, contributing to their economic vulnerability. Moreover, due to the lack of access to education for Indian women, this turns into a disadvantage for them when they turn old, increasing their chances of having poorer lives than men. According to a study by Rossella Calvi, poverty rates are 80% less among elderly men than women in India.

Indian Government’s Initiatives

While elderly poverty in India is a tricky issue to solve, the government is attempting to improve the situation of the senior population. Here are some of its initiatives:

  • National Program for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE) – In 2010, the government implemented the program to deliver an accessible, affordable and dedicated healthcare system to elderly citizens at different levels, for instance, daycare services, rehabilitative services and home care services. In addition, the government also hoped to highlight two concepts in Indian society: healthy aging and activeness.
  • National Action Plan for Senior Citizens ( NAPSrC) – The government drafted the scheme in 2019. It set out the objective to improve the well-being of elderly Indians by providing them with dignified lives. To achieve this aim, government officials planned a series of activities. For example, the program resulted in the building of some extra homes with essential amenities for the elderly to ensure the quality of their lives. According to the Indian government’s report, the objective was an independent task for the central government or collaboration by the central and state governments to achieve.

The Results of the Initiatives

Both schemes achieved important progress. Here are some details about their accomplishments:

  • NPHCE – According to the website of the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under this program, 8,300 elderly received home-based care services; 29,601 and 69,339 elderly received physiotherapy services from district hospitals and community health services, respectively.
  • NAPSrC – The Indian government launched the drafted scheme in 2019. For the financial years 2020 and 2021, the government announced that it would spend approximately RS 200 crore as the budget provision for the scheme, according to the NAPSrC’s report in 2020.

Overall, while elderly poverty is a pressing issue in India, the Indian government has come up with different solutions such as the NPHCE and NAPSrC schemes. Both have the same intention – to improve the quality of life of the elderly.

– Mimosa Ngai
Photo: Flickr

Examining Poverty in Argentina 

Poverty in Argentina
Currently, 37% of people live below the poverty line in Argentina and are struggling due to the inconsistency of prices and jobs from inflation and changes in unemployment. Poverty in Argentina affects over 17 million people in the country, learn more about the unique struggles in Argentina.

Historic Inflation and Recent Economic Disaster

Argentina has felt the effects of intense inflation since the 1980s, but in recent months has seen record increases in these rates. The year-on-year inflation rate is the highest it has been in the past 30 years, exceeding 60 points, according to Peoples Dispatch. This increase has hurt those in the lowest income bracket the most, but the poverty rate is on the rise. It is estimated that 2,800 people are forced into poverty every day.

Despite that alarming amount, economists predict more could be hurt as the inflation rate could reach 90% by the end of 2022. The instability of inflation has made prices different on a variety of items that change weekly. This hurts those struggling to afford groceries and other necessities. The recent economic instability is a huge threat to those living in Argentina.

Unemployment, the Working Poor and the COVID-19 Pandemic

World events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic further impacted poverty in Argentina. The poverty rate hit between 46% and 47% towards the end of June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19-induced shutdown. The high poverty rate was due in part to the 3.5 million jobs lost during the pandemic. In 2020, the poverty rate related to an income of 14,718 pesos, or $193, per month.

The unemployment rate dropped to 7% at the beginning of 2022, however, the poverty rate includes 28% of Argentinians who hold jobs. The research found that from 2018 to 2022 that due to inflation and a combination of currency devaluation wages lost 20% of their purchasing power. The increase in unemployment during the pandemic increased the poverty rate, but as the unemployment rate decreased, the poverty rate did not.

The effects of outside events, like war or pandemics are global, but Argentina’s sensitive economy sees drastic changes easily. Changes in habitable actions and consumption also show the increase in poverty. For example, in 2021, Argentinians consumed the lowest amount of beef per capita (47.8 kilos) since the 1920s, Peoples Dispatch reported. The changes in unemployment and the increase in the working poor are changing poverty in Argentina.

The Future of Poverty in Argentina

The IMF began working with the Argentinian government in May 2018 and has a plan to help those most at risk. This calls for actions like the central banks to be independent and protect social spending. Those in poverty in Argentina need help since they are sinking even deeper into poverty.

Additionally, in May 2022, the Total Basic Food Basket increased by 4.6%. This means that a family of two adults and two children in Greater Buenos Aires must require an income of 99,677 pesos (or $796) per month to stay above the poverty line, according to Peoples Dispatch. This increase shows how difficult it is to survive in Argentina due to the fickle movements of the economy.

Changing economy and the socioeconomic inequalities that often affect employment rates further complicate poverty in Argentina. The recent increase in inflation implies there is a strong need for stability to save those falling below the poverty line every day.

– Ann Shick
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Jal Jeevan Mission Provides Rural India with Clean Water

Jal Jeevan Mission
According to UNICEF, in 2017, less than half of India’s people had “access to safely managed drinking water.” Furthermore,  contamination of water is a serious issue and two-thirds of all Indian districts endure “extreme water depletion,” so many of India’s citizens cannot access water or have to trek long distances to access it. This national issue disproportionately affects women and children as they are the ones typically responsible for gathering and transporting water. However, since August 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), run by the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, has aimed to provide all houses in rural India with functioning tap water by 2024.

Current Water Issue Impacts

According to Forbes, every year, about 37.7 million people in India suffer waterborne diseases due to unsafe water and 1.5 million Indian children lose their lives due to diarrhea arising from contaminated water. Water sources contaminated with fluoride, arsenic and other chemicals negatively impact the health of Indian people. Annually, India loses 73 million days of labor due to waterborne illnesses. Altogether, India faces an economic burden of $600 million per year as a result of the associated costs of waterborne diseases. A National Geographic article published in 2020 said that 21% of India’s communicable illnesses were due to unclean water.

The lack of water also causes other issues in Indian society. Women and children are often responsible for going on long treks for water if there is no available source of water near their communities. Many children are unable to attend school and women cannot participate in education or paid employment because they must retrieve water for their families.

Because of these conditions, the JJM is working to ensure all rural houses in India have functioning tap water by 2024.

How the Jal Jeevan Mission is Making a Difference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Jal Javeen Mission in 2019. Its mission is to provide safe and accessible drinking water by allowing families to access water from their own homes through household tap connections. It works with the states in India to ensure water security and accessibility are available for all citizens. Since the launch of the mission, by September 1, 2022, JJM provided 43.18% of India’s rural households with tap connections. As of September 2022, 52% of the nation’s rural houses have access to functional tap connections.

Not only does the JJM work to provide rural houses in India with tap connections but it also aims to ensure schools have access to convenient clean water. By June 2022, JJM had assisted 860,000 schools and 890,000 daycare centers with access to a clean and safe water supply.

More women are actively involved in community issues about water. As many as 1 million women have received training from JJM to ensure safe water quality water through the use of field safety kits. Additionally, women comprise 50% of the members of 496,000 established Village Water and Sanitation Committees. Women are now playing a key role in discussions and decisions pertaining to clean water access in communities.

Looking Ahead

Ultimately, the Jal Jeevan Mission has allowed more rural households in India access to safe and clean water. This will bring about better health in communities as waterborne diseases become less prevalent. More children can attend schools and women no longer have to endure the burden of walking long distances to fetch clean water. All of this is thanks to the Jal Jeevan Mission and its goal to provide all rural houses in India with functioning tap water by 2024.

– Janae O’Connell
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Renewable Energy in Japan

Renewable Energy in Japan
In 2019, Japan stood as one of the largest oil and coal consumers in the world but is now Asia’s “third-largest producer of renewable energy.” Renewable energy in Japan is on the rise.

Overcoming Challenges

Transitioning to renewable energy has its challenges. The cost of solar energy in Japan is high, land use restrictions limit the potential for wind power and Japan’s power grid “is segmented and consists of many smaller grids with weak interconnections.” Even so, a net zero society is still a feasible goal for the nation.

Progress

In 2021, renewables made up about 22% of total electricity generation, which is two percentage points higher than in 2020. Solar and wind power have become much more prominent thanks to the Renewable Energy Act, which became effective in 2022. This act defines renewable energy as solar, biomass, wind, geothermal and hydropower.

Additionally, the Japanese government is planning on establishing wind power as a cheaper energy source than thermal energy and aims to reach this goal by 2035. Japan aims to accomplish this mainly by increasing its generation of wind energy. Making wind power more affordable will be especially impactful for low-income communities because low-income communities in Japan have a much higher energy poverty rate than their more wealthy counterparts.

Clean Energy Decreasing Poverty

Improving access to clean energy reduces poverty by increasing access to education and improving public health. Japan has been noticing the need for clean energy along with the need for reducing poverty. Here are some ways the country is taking action on both at the same time:

  • The Japan-U.S. Clean Energy Partnership (JUCEP). The U.S. and Japan formed this partnership in 2021 to assist nations across the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific, “to accelerate their decarbonization efforts while achieving energy security and sustainable growth by deploying clean, affordable and secure energy technologies.” The goals of JUCEP include renewable energy transitions through the use of “geothermal, wind, solar, hydropower and critical minerals.” The overall aim is to move toward sustainability and energy security in the Indo-Pacific.
  • The Strategic Energy Plan. Japan’s Agency of Natural Resources and Energy published the sixth revision of this plan in 2021. The plan’s goal is to scale up renewable energy, decrease the need for fossil fuels and add hydrogen and ammonia as energy sources. As part of this plan, the Clean Energy Strategy aims to ensure utility operators and individuals can adjust their manners of working and living to align with carbon neutrality. In addition, the plan aims to reduce the costs of renewable energy to ensure accessibility, among other goals.

Looking Ahead

With the rising costs of electricity and the unsustainability of fossil fuels, the world is realizing the importance o transitioning to renewable energy. Countries, such as Japan, are not only looking to move toward clean energy but are also prioritizing the accessibility of renewable energy so that it can benefit all people regardless of income level.

With these developments and more to come, the future looks bright for renewable energy in Japan. By 2030, the country expects to derive 60% of its power from clean energy sources and is set to achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050.

– Ava Ronning
Photo: Flickr

How Andean Health and Development is Transforming Rural Ecuador

rural Ecuador
Andean Health and Development (AHD) is a nonprofit that specializes in health care. It operates mainly in rural Ecuador, where barriers to health care are everywhere. Costs of travel into more populous areas where hospitals are typically located, the types of physical work that are common in rural communities and lower health literacy rates in rural Ecuador all have negative implications for human development.

What Andean Health and Development Does

Andean Health and Development (AHD) works to create health care system solutions that make care more accessible to rural Ecuadorians. AHD has built two hospitals in rural Ecuador that offer quality health care to those who cannot travel for health care. To make this approach sustainable, AHD has a rigorous three-year residency program that trains Ecuadorian doctors to become “the rural health care leaders of tomorrow.” This residency program has classes of up to 60 physicians who are hoping to focus their practice in the rural communities that need it. All of the staff at AHD health centers are Ecuadorian, which plays a key role in the success of this community-based approach.

As a nonprofit, Andean Health and Development also maintains relationships with local and international governments, global universities and donor relations to continuously expand its reach. AHD can operate its facilities through a mix of fundraising, patient payments where applicable, partnerships with public and private sectors and government funding. As capital grows, AHD shifts from simply operating its facilities to investing in its staff and covering costs for the poorest people. AHD’s partner organization, the Andean Health Institute, is the operational force that conducts its own research, lobbies for policies that increase access to care and monitors the work that Andean Health and Development is doing.

Why Andean Health and Development Matters for Rural Ecuador

Rural poverty is the result of poor infrastructure, poor access to quality resources like health care and education and fewer job opportunities.

AHD addresses all three of these systemic issues. Although Ecuador has universal health care coverage, access is the most significant challenge for rural citizens. By implementing nearly an entire supplemental health care system, AHD is not only providing health care to those who need it but is also creating a wealth of job opportunities for providers and other AHD staff. AHD creates a sustainable healthcare system that improves patient care as the business grows.

Andean Health and Development is providing care to more than 150,000 rural Ecuadorians while training hundreds of physicians and staff members each year. AHD is also one of the few rural health care providers in South America that successfully utilizes this approach to health care. Adopting a model of local community buy-in combined with capacity-building outside of the health center could be a model that poor or rural regions around the world that require access to health care can use.

 – Hannah Yonas
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Improving Health Care in The Bahamas

Health Care in The Bahamas
According to a census that the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted between 2000 and 2010, there has been an increase in life expectancy, a decrease in stillbirths and an increase in population growth in The Bahamas. Furthermore, between 2009 and 2015, the mortality rate from communicable diseases reduced by 32% per population of 100,000 followed by a 37% decline in tuberculosis and AIDS. One can attribute these improvements in the nation’s health to improvements in the National Immunization Program and the Vector Control Program, both of which tackle disease outbreaks with immediate attention to contain and suppress the spread of infections on local grounds.

As of 2010, however, the nation was still yet to resolve the risk of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, malignant neoplasm and diabetes. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are two major United Nations agencies supporting health care in The Bahamas. Since 2011, The Ministry of Health in The Bahamas established a coalition composed of state and non-state stakeholders, civil society organizations and international agencies, to collectively address non-communicable diseases.

Efforts to Improve Health Care in The Bahamas

Since then, The Bahamas has significantly improved its health care. On July 6, 2021, the Bahamian government and the Beck Group agreed to a $90 million deal to improve public hospitals. This deal includes upgrades to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau and Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahamas. Moving forward, more attention will go toward the infrastructure of these hospitals, especially when considering the impact of Hurricane Dorian on the Rand Memorial Hospital in 2019. Such efforts are vital to improving health care in The Bahamas.

Even more recently, The Ministry of Health & Wellness released a statement confirming no cases of Monkeypox in The Bahamas as of May 29, 2022. Furthermore, the Ministry also issued an Epo Alert to physicians nationwide to continue surveillance of any individuals indicating symptoms of Monkeypox. This work not only benefits all citizens of The Bahamas but also incoming tourists from around the globe. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Health is running numerous healthcare initiatives programs that aim to further develop health care in The Bahamas.

5 Health Care Programs in The Bahamas

  1. The Parent Craft Program: The Parent Craft Program helps to enlist all expectant parents in The Bahamas in childbirth and parenting classes to help educate them on prenatal and postnatal care. The modules cover topics such as bodily changes during pregnancy and infant nutrition. The Program began in the mid-1960s but took off in 1990. Furthermore, although the government of The Bahamas has yet to report detailed statistics, estimates have indicated that at least 50% of antenatal mothers will register in the program and fathers will make up 25% of participants in all parenting classes.
  2. Healthy Lifestyle Initiative: Healthy Lifestyle Initiative aims to reduce illness, disability and death due to poor lifestyle choices. Methods include educating the public on the harmful effects of smoking, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise. The initiative aims to tackle non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic respiratory disease, heart disease and cancer. Established in November 2005, the initiative continues to have an impact nationwide.
  3. Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Program: Introduced in 1999, the SCAN Program provides an effective approach to identifying and supporting children who have experienced abuse and are hence in dire need of health care assistance. These services will also include support to arrange psychological and legal services for abused children and their families. SCAN also partners with forensic, police and judiciary services. However, the Government of The Bahamas has yet to report detailed statistics regarding the initiative as people tend to keep issues about abuse private.
  4. School Health Initiative: Introduced in 1920, the School Health Initiative ensures premium healthcare services for all government school students. Furthermore, recognizing health care in The Bahamas as a key contributor to academic success, this initiative seeks to help physicians and nurses carry out annual physical examinations of children in grades 1, 6 and 10. The goal is also to better prepare health care workers to treat minor ailments and maintain a high level of immunization amongst school children.
  5. The Tuberculosis Control Program: Since 1955, the Tuberculosis Control Program has envisioned eliminating all traces of TB in The Bahamas, and subsequently, reducing death, disability, illness, emotional trauma, family disruption and the social stigma that may accompany TB. Since 1962, there have been many upgrades in health care services in local hospitals. For instance, the Princess Margaret Hospital created a separate wing, the Chest Wing, for private TB patients in the Princess Margaret Hospital. The hospital later introduced exclusive floors with three wings for female and male patients respectively, as well as another wing just for children on the ground floor.

Looking Ahead

The programs and initiatives above are evidence of the nation’s commitment to improving health care in The Bahamas. Over the last decade, given the risk of diseases such as COVID-19, tuberculosis and AIDS, national attention to health care has become a pivotal topic of national interest and does not seem to waiver. Furthermore, on November 22, 2021, USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean Regional Representative, Mr. Clinton D. White, donated $255,000 worth of health equipment to The Bahamas on behalf of the U.S. government. Most notably, on August 12, the U.S. Government delivered 134,550 Pfizer vaccine doses to The Bahamas. Although there is still work that needs to occur in addressing non-communicable diseases and decreasing national rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, the nation’s progress in health care is commendable. Given continued focus and support from fellow nations, the health care system in The Bahamas should only be on the rise.

– Samyudha Rajesh
Photo: Unsplash

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How AI Education in China is Reducing Inequalities

how-ai-is-reducing-inequalities-in-china-through-education
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the world and how it works. Machine learning offers new and more efficient solutions to the distribution and organization of services and resources. Specifically, AI is becoming a substitute for human decision-making in all fields from the justice system to sports.

China has started to apply AI to the education system, which has many potential benefits. China currently suffers from a large urban-rural divide that the strict household registration of Hukou has exaggerated. Hukou is a household registration system that has placed limitations on domestic migration in China. This makes it more difficult for those living in rural areas to migrate to the cities and obtain secure jobs.

As a result, China’s education level is surprisingly low for a country that is growing at such a vast rate. About 70% of the labor force in China does not have a high school education, falling far below the levels of countries with comparable incomes. AI provides opportunities for the entire Chinese population to receive an education. On top of this, AI education in China should allow for more specialized and accurate teaching schemes.

AI Education in China

An example of AI education in China is Squirrel AI. Squirrel AI specializes in “intelligent adaptive education.” The company is putting money into AI scientists so that they can invest more research into the field. Squirrel AI uses an algorithm so that students received 70% of teaching suggestions from AI and the other 30% from human teachers. This allows for an education tailored to the needs of each child whilst maintaining some human control to manage the machine learning process.

China has huge potential to implement schemes such as this due to its high development level in AI. The percentage of research papers from China working on AI development has risen from 4.2% in 1997 to 27.7% in 2017. China is now the leader in publications as well. On top of this, China is also the leader in patent applications concerning AI.

China’s other important advantage in AI research is that it is a one-nation state. This means that AI developers that the government backs have access to mass amounts of data compared to other nations. On top of this, it means that the implementation and regulation changes occur much more rapidly in China. This has helped enhance the production and development process of AI in China.

For example, China has utilized school-industry partnerships and school curriculums to bolster the understanding and implementation of AI in society.

Consequently, the growth of AI access, and efficacy in the education sector, has been sizable in China. For example, 248 schools from areas of low income received access to online lessons from a top-level high school. On top of this, AI education in China is also acting to shift the focus of the education system in China from the ‘assembly line’ approach of mass education to higher quality education for the masses. Instead of mass testing, AI programs will develop to meet the needs of each child’s abilities. On top of this, AI provides many benefits in its application as it is cheaper, and people can utilize it at any time and in any place.

Squirrel AI itself reflects this success, opening more than 1,800 learning centers in more than 300 cities. This shows the potential for the implementation of AI education in China.

Reduction in Urban-Rural Divide

This presents new hopes in reducing the 70% not graduating from high school in China. This could help to present new opportunities to the rural areas of China, and therefore, reduce inequality levels across the country. China needs to ensure that AI emerges in a way that does not act to further exacerbate these divides by promoting its accessibility to all. Other countries should be keenly watching the events that unfold in China’s near future, whether that be avoiding the mistakes China may make or adopting the AI and implementation process China pursues.

– Reuben Cochrane
Photo: Unsplash

Food Systems in Ghana

Food Systems in Ghana
Around 12% of Ghana’s population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank. For many Ghanaians, including those in poverty, food security is a pressing issue. Ghana, a country of more than 31 million people on Africa’s west coast, is currently in the midst of a food crisis. Food systems in Ghana have experienced strain due to recent global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War, leading to supply chain and food system shortages.

The 2020 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis report for Ghana said that 63.8% of Ghanaians experienced a shock from COVID-19 that contributed to food insecurity. That same report concluded that in 2020, 11.7% of households in Ghana were food insecure.

War’s Impact

Despite occurring on a different continent, the war between Russia and Ukraine has had a devastating impact on Ghana. Agriculture is one of the pillars of Ghana’s economy, with half of the workforce being in the agriculture sector.

Food systems in Ghana are highly reliant on nitrogen fertilizer, which it has imported from Russia. Due to sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, prices for Russian exports have skyrocketed and fertilizer was no exception. New York 1 reported that Ghana relies on Russia for one-fifth of its imports of fertilizer.

The Northern Development and Democratic Institute released a grim report with projections for the remainder of 2022. Ghana is likely to see an increase in hunger and a worsening food insecurity crisis in the final two quarters of the year, heading into 2023.

This problem is not unique to Ghana, though. Many countries are suffering the effects of supply chain issues and price hikes for fertilizer and other imports. In August 2022, the United States Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned of a worsening food insecurity crisis as an effect of the war in Ukraine.

“That would mean that more than 40 million people will have become food insecure since [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin chose to invade his neighbor and steal their land. That is more people than the entire population of Ghana,” said Thomas-Greenfield.

Looking Ahead

The future is not bleak for food systems in Ghana, though. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on August 5 that they are committing $2.5 million in aid to Ghana to alleviate the food crisis.

According to the press release, the aid money will go toward:

  • Developing new fertilizer products both organic and inorganic
  • Working with fertilizer companies and manufacturers to export fertilizer into Ghana
  • Making sure farms in Ghana receive sufficient amounts of fertilizer

In addition to the money from USAID, the World Bank will contribute to efforts to stabilize the food systems in Ghana. The Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP-2) recently received approval for an additional $315 million in funding from the International Development Association. FSRP-2 will provide aid to three Western African countries: Sierra Leone, Chad and Ghana. The efforts that FSRP-2 funded should reduce food insecurity in the region by 25%.

Overall, food systems in Ghana are struggling but not entirely broken. Outside factors like the war in Ukraine and supply chain shocks that the COVID-19 pandemic caused hampered food security in the West African nation, but the existing strength of the agricultural sector as well as foreign aid should stabilize and revitalize Ghana’s food systems.

– Emma Rushworth
Photo: Flickr

A Shrinking Workforce in Burkina Faso

A Shrinking Workforce in Burkina Faso
A shrinking workforce in Burkina Faso has implications far and wide for the economic and social state of the country. Political instability and limited natural resources have exacerbated the country’s poor financial state. Following a coup d’état in January 2022, Burkina Faso ended up in political chaos once again. Though the country has many transitional bodies which seek to aid the transition, the instability and harsh economic conditions make progress slow and difficult. A shrinking workforce in Burkina Faso makes progress forward difficult while economic and social progress itself makes tackling the high unemployment rate challenging.

The main issue is the downward trend in employment. The labor force participation rate has been steadily declining since the 1990s, meaning that the progress of the last three decades has been lost. Technological progress particularly has been slow and costly and the country lags behind its African and global competitors.

The Workforce

Primarily, the country’s workforce struggles to keep up with its growing population. Current estimates show that the population is growing at a rate of over 3%, yet more than 40% of the population lives in poverty. Seven out of 10 people are under the age of 30, but the working age population is weak and underdeveloped. In 2005, approximately 89.1% of the working-age population had employment. However, in 2018, the World Bank reported that only nearly 45% of the working-age population in Burkina Faso was participating in the labor force in 2018. Certainly, the problem is not as simple as it seems.

The country faces problems as the underdeveloped workforce and infrastructure struggle to cope with the growing population. Sectors such as health care have borne the brunt of the lack of resources. Government expenditure on health care in Burkina Faso has nearly disappeared. Even before the lack of investment in health care, there were not enough health care workers to support the system and the needs of the people. Children and infants experienced significant hardship as a result of this.

Children have suffered differently. The Department of Labor reported that nearly half of all children in Burkina Faso work as of 2012. Though unemployment is high, child labor is cheap and exploitable, so children comprise a significant portion of the workforce in the country. Activists have the daunting task of reorienting a shrinking workforce in Burkina Faso so that fewer children and more adults enter the workforce.

Economic Rebound

One positive sign is that Burkina Faso’s post-COVID-19 economic rebound has been successful. The country grew an estimated 8.5% in 2021. Though the 2022 coup caused some to question the financial stability and prospects of the country, a high growth rate, to 6.5% in 2021, shows that Burkina Faso is resilient. Many believe that an investment in gold mining and related infrastructure is the way forward for Burkina Faso. Gold is Burkina Faso’s top export to the United States. Some believe that gold will be lucrative in the future and will be able to support a growing workforce. However, the reliance on gold will be challenging, as those in Burkina Faso will need to be stringent and careful about the labor requirements and fulfillments that it will need to strengthen its workforce.

Looking Ahead

The country is eligible for what is known as “preferential trade benefits” under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which means that global partners recognize the need to invest in and prioritize the country. Ultimately, strong and positive growth is possible on the trend that Burkina Faso is on at the moment. Progress will need to be cautious and prudent, but many are hopeful that a stronger workforce and therefore a stronger country is possible.

– Lara Drinan
Photo: Wikipedia Commons