Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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GPS Tracking of Livestock in Africa

GPS Tracking of Livestock in AfricaAround 85% of global citizens living in extreme poverty inhabit the sub-Saharan portion of Africa. Civilians rely heavily on agriculture, specifically livestock production, to support their livelihoods and the economy at large. However, these animals can transmit diseases harmful to humans, such as foot-and-mouth disease, ringworm, listeriosis and MRSA. Scientists and farmers in Tanzania have partnered up to create satellite GPS tracking devices to track livestock herds and gain a better understanding of how diseases spread between herds. GPS tracking of livestock in Africa can also prevent further infection.

Livestock Agriculture in Africa

About 70% of African civilians rely on agriculture to make a decent living. This sector contributes to improved food security, industrialization and domestic and global trade throughout Africa. Livestock is an essential part of agriculture. Farmers raise domesticated animals to provide resources such as dairy products, fibers and feathers. In fact, 60%-80% of rural homes in Africa keep livestock to support their economic and food necessities. The East Africa region is the nation’s largest exporter of live animals, “home to 107.2 million head of cattle, 178.8 million goats and sheep, 1.3 million camels and 4.4 million pigs” in 2019.

East Africa derives more than $1 billion worth of annual income from the export of livestock to the Middle East and Northern Africa. In addition, livestock agriculture contributes between 30% and 80% of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) across African nations.

Disease Risks of Livestock Agriculture

Due to the heavy reliance on livestock agriculture in Africa, one must consider diseases that could potentially transmit to other herds and humans. The avian flu, Ebola and COVID-19 are only a few of the many illnesses spread through animals. About 75% of emerging infectious diseases are “zoonotic,” meaning that the diseases originate from pathogens of infected live animals and then pass on to humans. With increased interaction between livestock and civilians in Africa, there is a higher risk for disease transmission. This could negatively impact livestock productivity and could worsen poverty and food insecurity across Africa.

GPS Tracking of Livestock

Livestock health authorities in Africa have little knowledge of which areas have the highest prevalence of disease transmission among cattle. GPS tracking of livestock in Africa could be the solution. In 2021, scientists and researchers from the University of Glasgow teamed up with farmers from rural villages of Tanzania to study how diseases spread among livestock to prevent future disease spread. Together, they developed satellite GPS tracking devices that could monitor the transportation of livestock.

Through this method, researchers discovered that disease transmission was most likely to occur in areas where the animals congregated for long periods, “such as at water holes and cattle plunge dips.” GPS tracking of livestock in Africa also reveals the far distances cattle often travel daily. Cattle would cover roughly five miles per day and reach maximum speeds of seven miles per hour, allowing room for intermingling between herds.

Looking Ahead

GPS tracking of livestock in Africa is paving the way for disease control and prevention. This research could potentially save lives and economies in continents like Africa where disease prevalence and agricultural demand are high. A better understanding of disease transmission between livestock and humans can also improve the animals’ health, contributing significantly to the strengthening of African livelihoods.

– Megan Quinn
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About Water Scarcity in Jordan

Water Scarcity in Jordan
Despite regional turmoil, Jordan enjoys relative stability compared to its neighbors in the Middle East. However, the Kingdom’s long-running issue of water scarcity, which ranked second globally, could threaten that continued stability. Water scarcity exacerbates existing systemic issues such as poverty and public health crises, which Jordan currently contends with. The Kingdom is suffering from an unprecedented youth employment rate of 48.1% as of November 2021 and is struggling to meet the pandemic-induced public health demands. As the effects of environmental changes continue to develop, Jordanians may increasingly feel the impacts of water scarcity in Jordan in the next decade.

7 Facts About Water Scarcity in Jordan

  1. Critical Water Insecurity by 2030: According to a March 2021 research study that Jim Yoon led, more than “90% of Jordan’s low-income population” will endure severe water insecurity by 2030. This water scarcity in Jordan will equate to impoverished households receiving less than 40 liters of water per capita per day.
  2. Demand is the Issue, Not Supply: About 93% of Jordanians have access to a safely-managed water source, according to UNICEF, reflecting adequate infrastructure. However, in 2017, Jordan’s yearly water supply equated to “less than 100m 3 per person, significantly below the United Nations’ threshold of 500m3 per person, which defines severe water scarcity,” reflecting the inability to meet population demand. This issue has worsened in recent years with the large influx of Syrian refugees.
  3. Rainfall: Jordan gets 110 mm of rainfall a year and ranked ninth in the top 10 countries with the lowest rainfall in 2017.
  4. Groundwater: Groundwater makes up 54% of Jordan’s water supply. There are 12 groundwater basins in Jordan. According to a 2021 research article by faculty members of Jordan-Jerash University, these basins experience overexploitation past their annual replenishable capacity. About 77.5% of the nation’s conserved water goes to the agricultural industry, which contributed only 5.6% of the country’s GDP in 2018.
  5. Treated Wastewater as an Alternative: Since building wastewater treatment plants in the 1980s, more than 64% of the population gained access to sewage systems, improving the overall sanitation level of the country. Jordan has a minimum of 26 wastewater treatment plants to treat and reuse raw wastewater. Projections have stated that the expansion of wastewater treatment plants will potentially offset the industrial demand for freshwater caused by water scarcity in Jordan in the Amman, Zarqa and Aqaba governorates.
  6. Mismanagement of Surface Water Resources: About 37% of Jordan’s total water supply comes from surface water resources. There are three major surface water sources in Jordan — the Jordan, Zarqa and Yarmouk rivers. Israel and Syria’s “upstream diversion and over-pumping” of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers are drying up Jordan’s access to their stream due to the lack of regional environmental cooperation. Meanwhile, the Zarqa River is severely contaminated due to overflow from wastewater treatment plants and sewage leaks.
  7. Pollution: Pollution is exacerbating water shortages. The overflow of wastewater pumping stations, leaks from sewage systems and exposure to industrial and commercial waste are polluting Jordan’s surface river sources. This has resulted in nitrate and phosphorus contamination of water supplies. Researchers point to improper industrial discharges and lack of regulation as the leading cause of water pollution in Jordan.

Looking Ahead

To continue as an oasis of peace and stability in the Middle East, Jordan must address its long-standing water scarcity crisis. Investment in strategies, such as the effective use of recycled wastewater, will help improve the country’s capacity to meet its booming population’s demand.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping to improve water scarcity in Jordan with its operations in Jordan beginning as early as 1949 — three years after the nation’s independence. In 2020, USAID “installed 8,500 kilometers of water piping and 120,0000 high-accuracy smart meters” while securing “leak detection equipment and vehicles” for the nation and upgrading “water monitoring and control systems” across the country. Through these measures, USAID was able to save sufficient “water in 2020 to supply more than 215,000 people” in Jordan annually.

In addition to technological solutions, Jordan is pursuing regional diplomatic efforts, such as the water-for-energy deal. Signed in November 2021 by Jordan and Israel, the deal will see Jordan export 600 megawatts of solar energy to Israel in exchange for 200 million cubic meters of Israel’s desalinated water.

This deal, and other efforts, could make way for sustainable, regional improvements in water conservation and accelerate the development of renewable energy infrastructure.

– Majeed Malhas
Photo: Flickr

Sheep Farming in the Sahel Region

Sheep Farming in the Sahel RegionThe Sahel region of Africa, a semi-arid region of western and north-central Africa, farms sheep, often prizing them as a rich source of income. Sheep livestock farming generates significant income because the sheep thrive in all environments, and the demand in Africa is high. The benefits of sheep farming in the Sahel region re-present themselves annually and allow more income than typical farming. Sheep farming in the Sahel region allows more income in a region where farms struggle in the arid environment, and the average income is less than $2 a day.

Farming Difficulties and Solutions in the Sahel Region

The Sahel region’s farming difficulties are numerous. The soil for farming lacks nutrients and makes it challenging to maintain crops. New technologies, such as the Delfino Plough, are currently working to combat this. The plough moves up and down acres of land and punches seeds and nutrients into the ground. Another challenge the Sahel region faces is a lack of water. Rainfall is less than 200 millimeters (mm) annually along its northern edges and often never more than 600 mm along the southern border. Despite the extra rain from the 2020 and 2021 rainy seasons, the soil is typically too dry to support long-term farming. However, if the excess rain continues, it will help the ground remain richer for longer.

Funding and financial backing for the Sahel region’s farms have been minimal, impacting the farms’ ability to grow more produce and generate more income. Meager income affects the number of proper farming tools farmers can acquire and does not help farmers when they try to create and sustain their farms. Useful and new farming tools are expensive. Banks have begun operations in the region. The banks must connect with local farms and help them create plans for saving money. Traditionally, some of the most profitable farms in the Sahel region have been the sheep farms.

Importance of Sheep Farming in the Sahel Region

The Sahel region’s sheep farms are essential because they provide vital income, quickly tradable goods and food security. In such an arid environment, the Sahel region’s farmers are experts at their crafts and know which crops will thrive as sheep farming offers alternative farming options. Sheep livestock farming guarantees at least one, if not multiple, sources of income from the animals, i.e., dairy products, wool/fibers for clothes and bedding and offspring to further the economic income. Additionally, sheep manure benefits the soils and feeds nutrients to the ground to help other farms grow their produce.

Demand for sheep’s wool reaches almost 2 million tons annually. Depending on which type of market one is selling wool in and which type of wool it is, the wool can earn the seller $15 to $20 per pound. The amount of wool produced depends on various factors, such as diet, gender, age, size, climate and more. Considering those factors, a sheep can make anywhere between two and 30 pounds a year. The shearing and raising of sheep allow for a quick return on profits because sheep fur grows fast and brings a profit. Later, the breeding of the sheep earns the livestock farmers extra income.

The profit from sheep farming in the Sahel region varies depending on the purpose of the sheep farms. If a farm is raising sheep solely for its wool, its income comes from what it makes by selling the wool. However, sheep farmers can also sell the animal’s meat or offspring should the farms begin breeding the sheep. Every dollar counts for the sheep farmers, especially in regard to how the costs of the farm balances with their income.

Sheep Farming’s Future in the Sahel Region

Sheep farming in the Sahel region is a continually expanding business. As desertification has affected more and more land in the Sahel region, farmers need to look for ways to preserve their land and maintain income. Sheep farming is an ideal way to achieve their goals. Sheep farming in the Sahel region allows farmers to revitalize land and the economy as demand for wool and sheep meat remains high locally and internationally.

As almost 90% of the Sahel region relies on farming of some type, countless non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work to find solutions to the challenges Sahel farmers face. Sheep farming in the Sahel region is likely to be a practice that many other farms in the Sahel region take up because of its sustainability. With the help of the Sahel Alliance, farming practices are likely going to continue and remain a dominant source of income in the region.

The Sahel Alliance organizes efforts for projects across the Sahel region to preserve the region’s ways of life and raises money to fund projects aimed at local support. The projects are in fields like “education and youth employment” as well as “agriculture, rural development, food security” and “energy and climate” along with “governance,” “decentralization and basic services” and “internal security.” Helping farmers in the Sahel region is a primary goal of the Alliance and sheep farmers are a significant number of those farmers. With all the benefits sheep farming in the Sahel region brings, it is no wonder that it is vital to the region and likely to grow with the assistance of the Alliance.

– Clara Mulvihill
Photo: Flickr

How Cold War Bombs Affect Laos Today

Cold War Bombs
Laos, known as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country located in Southeast Asia. It shares borders with Thailand, China, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. The United States dropped 270 million cluster bombs in Laos during the Cold War and the War in Vietnam. In total, U.S. “Cold War bombs” have killed or injured an estimated 50,000 Laotians, mainly civilians and almost half of them children.

About a third of the bombs that the U.S. dropped remain in Laos undetonated. The name of these is “unexploded ordinances” or UXOs. These UXOs affect both the economic and physical well-being of the Laotian people. Recently, various organizations as well as the U.S. government have been providing funding and in-person aid to create a safer country for the Laotian people by searching for and removing unexploded ordnances (UXOs).

A Brief History of the Cold War Bombing

The United States bombed Laos from 1964 to 1973 during the Cold War to cut off Communist supply lines. According to Al Jazeera, every eight minutes for nine years, it dropped the equivalent of a fully-loaded plane of bombs. This has made Laos the most bombed country in history. Around a third of the bombs that the U.S. dropped failed to explode on impact. As a result, some have said that the U.S. left about 80 million bombs behind. These undetonated Cold War bombs have killed or maimed 20,000 people in the years since the bombing runs stopped. This legacy of UXOs is currently wreaking havoc on Laotians, who still live in fear of detonating the dormant bombs.

The Public Health Impact of Unexploded Ordnances

Laos’ economic development as an agricultural economy has suffered since 22% of detonations have occurred through farming activities. Dormant bombs also affect mining, hydropower projects, forestry and the construction of schools and clinics. Funds that other areas would use have had to go towards demining efforts and medical treatment. The Lao government has claimed there is a correlation between unexploded ordinances and poverty. This is especially true as survivors often do not have the ability to be fully productive.

Solutions

Organizations such as Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and its team of around 1,200 people have been working in Laos since 1994 to help alleviate future unexploded bomb tragedies and fatalities. MAG removed its 300,000th bomb in August 2021. In a project with International Relief and Development, MAG cleared 115 schools in one region of potential bomb threats. In turn, this led to increased school enrollment in the area by 30%, as well as creating a safer environment for young boys and girls. MAG plans to help the country achieve its goal of removing all UXO by 2030.

Along with MAG, Legacies of War has been working with key decision-makers in the U.S. government to provide greater resources to remove UXOs and provide services for the 12,000 UXO victims still affected.  Legacies of War has quadrupled U.S. funding to Laos. Through its efforts, land available for cultivation and economic development has increased, while annual casualty rates dropped from around 300 to less than 50.

Finally, in 2016, under the Obama administration, the United States gave an additional $90 million in aid to Laos to remove unexploded ordnances over a span of three years. This was almost as much as the U.S. gave to Laos in the past 20 previous years. In fact, Obama was the first sitting President to visit Laos in 2016. He believed the United States had a moral obligation to help Laos “heal.” The Pentagon also allowed aid agencies to access bombing records so they would have a better idea of where more UXOs are potentially located.

Looking Ahead

While Laos has not fully recovered from the bombing runs during the Cold War, humanitarian aid organizations and the U.S. government are making progress to remove UXOs, create a safer society, allow better access to land and alleviate the fears of its citizens. Additional resources targeted to search for and remove UXOs will help realize Laos’s goal of removing all of them by 2030.

– Jerrett Phinney
Photo: Flickr

How Sanctions Can Increase Poverty


Economic sanctions aim to inflict economic harm on a targeted country, select industries within it or organizations or specific individuals with the intended goal of changing that entity’s malign behavior. For one to deem a sanction regime effective, it must inflict economic harm and subsequently change the targeted state’s behavior. As a result, sanctions can increase poverty and cause harm to citizens of the countries that suffer them.

Economic sanctions have proven effective at inflicting economic harm, however, many often overlook that sanctions not only harm the targeted state and its people but also impact the state that implements them. Sanctions reduce the revenues of U.S. companies and individuals, costing billions of dollars in forfeited opportunities or sales and thousands of jobs.

However, countries do not often implement sanctions for punishment’s sake, but rather to change the atrocious behavior of other governmental actors. However, the record shows sanctions rarely get their desired outcome and often hurt the most vulnerable parts of a civilian population. For example, sanctions imposed on Haiti led to an expensive and dangerous mass exodus to the U.S. and the military sanctions on Pakistan led their government to pursue a nuclear option because they no longer had access to U.S. weapons. The U.N. imposed sanction regime in the 1990s on Iraq is illustrative of how sanctions rarely attain their goal and primarily harm the civilian population.

UN Sanction Regime in Iraq

The U.N. implemented comprehensive sanctions on Iraq on August 6, 1990, in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait just four days earlier. The sanctions blocked all imports and exports into Iraq seeking to pressure Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait and abandon his pursuit of WMDs. After seven months of comprehensive sanctions, Hussein continued the invasion until January 16, 1991, when the U.S. declared Operation Desert Storm. The U.N. coalition forces drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 100 hours.

The economic sanctions evidently inflicted economic harm on Iraq, with the worst effects befalling the most vulnerable parts of the population. In 1993, just three years into the comprehensive sanction regime, the World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that the sanctions had made severe hunger and malnutrition commonplace for most of the Iraqi population. As per WFP and FAO reported, those severe hunger and malnourishment impacted were vulnerable groups including children under 5 years old, expectant or nursing women, widows, orphans, the ill, the elderly and the disabled.

It was the military force that compelled Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait, not sanctions. The Iraqi leadership had proven itself able to outmaneuver the impacts of economic sanctions. Hence Iraq’s ability to sustain a ground invasion, under intense sanctions, for seven months after just fighting a war with Iran. The sanctions did not attain their goals as Saddam Hussein remained in power after the negotiated cease-fire, an agreement he largely ignored. By 1997, 31% of Iraqi children under 5-years-old suffered from chronic malnutrition as a result of the sanctions implemented in 1990. This clearly shows how sanctions can increase poverty in the countries that experience them.

Sanctions: A Poverty-National Security Connection

An overreliance on part of the U.S. on using sanctions has eroded U.S. national security and global security in a couple of ways. Anti-democratic regimes, such as Kim Jong-un’s or the former Saddam Hussein regime, frequently scoff at the threat of sanctions because the leadership of these countries is aware they will likely be able to mitigate the effects of sanctions on themselves.

Additionally, sanctions can have the effect of driving civilian populations to be increasingly dependent on their sanctioned government. Sanctions cause scarcity and the sanctioned government is the least vulnerable to resource scarcity. Scarcity enables the sanctioned government to wrest greater control over the distribution of goods, reinforcing the targeted government’s power over its people. In short, comprehensive sanctions can increase poverty and consequently make those that poverty hit the hardest even more dependent on their malign targeted governments.

The U.S. overreliance on sanctions also threatens the superiority of the U.S. dollar. The U.S. derives a great deal of its national security from the dominance of the dollar. The overuse of sanctions leads countries to reevaluate their dependence on the dollar. As Benn Steil noted a director of international economics at the Council on Foreign relations, when one uses this tool too frequently, it becomes increasingly cost-effective for other countries to evaluate alternatives to the U.S. dollar. The unrestrained usage of sanctions increases global poverty and compromises the U.S.’ national security.

Good News: Shifting Stance on Sanctions

There has been a promising shift in the public’s perception of sanctions. In February 2022, the U.N. held a meeting on sanctions, specifically, on how to prevent their unintended consequences. Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief delivered a few salient suggestions for sanctions going forward. To ensure that sanctions do not punish civilians for the crimes of their governments, Griffiths suggested to the U.N. Security Council that before countries implement sanctions, they include humanitarian carve-outs in their plan for sanctions. This recommendation would ensure that instead of initiating humanitarian carve-outs after the realization of the obstruction of humanitarian goods, countries can avoid this obstruction by accounting for it before implementing sanctions.

– Chester Lankford
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Turning Plastic into Protein Powder

Plastic into Protein Powder
A team of biologists, chemists and engineers have developed technology that can turn plastic into protein powder. The team is aiming to create a system that can help solve two of the world’s most pressing problems: hunger and plastic pollution.

BioPROTEIN

The title of the plastic to protein powder project is BioPROTEIN (Biological Plastic Reuse by Olefin and Ester Transforming Engineered Isolates and Natural Consortia). Assistant professor of biological sciences at Michigan Tech, Stephen Techtmann, leads the team behind this project. The team includes Ting Lu, professor in bioengineering from the University of Illinois, Rebecca Ong, assistant professor of chemical engineering at MTU, David Shonnard, professor of chemical engineering and Joshua Pearce, electrical and computer engineer.

The process of turning plastic into protein powder begins by putting plastic material into a reactor that breaks down the structure of the plastic and transforms it “into an oily substance.” Bacteria then consume this substance and multiply speedily, creating “more bacteria cells, which are about 55% protein.” According to Techtmann, “the end result” looks similar to “a yeast byproduct that comes from brewing beer.” The scientists then dry out this byproduct, leading to the creation of an edible protein powder.

Plastic Pollution and Poverty

Plastic is a very durable substance; it can take hundreds of years to break down ‌after humans discard it. Most plastics become microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic material that scientists have found nearly everywhere, including in human organs.

Humans have created approximately seven billion tons of plastic products and have recycled less than 10% of them. Humans produce about 330 million tons of plastic waste annually. Approximately 50% of all plastic goes toward the making of single-use products, which means humans use these plastic products for one purpose and then discard them.

The effects of plastic pollution are harshest for developing countries, which have the least capability to handle the consequences. The most impoverished countries have the least developed and most mismanaged waste management programs. Ways that poor waste management, including plastic, negatively affects peoples’ health and livelihoods include:

  • Waste blocks waterways, leading to the development of more waterborne illnesses.
  • Waste buildup becomes a breeding ground for disease-carrying organisms.
  • The burning of waste releases pollutants into the air that harm people.
  • Mismanagement of waste creates informal dump sites that are hazardous to traverse and can lead to mudslides.
  • Waste buildup pollutes water and soil that people use for drinking and cultivation.
  • Animals consume waste, which causes livestock mortality or illness.

Hunger and Poverty

Although the overall rate of hunger worldwide has reduced since 2000, it has been steadily rising since 2014, with a predicted spike because of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 750 million people in the world experienced severe food insecurity in 2019.

Even more extreme than the lack of access to food for people experiencing extreme poverty is the lack of ability to maintain a healthy diet. A healthy diet is about five times more costly than diets that meet basic energy requirements “through a starchy staple” and far exceeds the amount of money people earn while living under the international poverty line.

Goals of BioPROTEIN

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initially financed the BioPROTEIN project with funding of up to $7.2 million. The first idea behind the project was that military forces could use a plastic-to-protein powder machine that will fit in the back of a military vehicle and can turn plastic waste into a food source when out in remote areas.

However, the team wants to develop beyond this goal; Techtmann wants nonprofits and communities around the globe that are experiencing food poverty to have access to BioPROTEIN machines. He hopes the invention will turn into a solution that can help impoverished communities manage plastic waste while addressing food insecurity.

– Melissa Hood
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Airbnb Bookings in Ukraine to Support Ukrainians

Airbnb Bookings in Ukraine
All over the world, people are making Airbnb bookings in Ukraine with no intention of visiting. Instead, the purpose of these bookings is to send Ukrainians direct aid through their Airbnb hostings. It is a social media campaign that took flight at the beginning of March 2022 as one way to help Ukrainians during the war and has proven helpful and effective.

Social Media Account Quentin Quarantino

This campaign first came to be through social media user Tommy Marcus who posts as Quentin Quarantino, a popular meme account known on Instagram as @quentin.quarantino and as @quentquarantino on Twitter. Marcus created a post on March 2, 2022, urging his followers to help Ukrainians by making Airbnb reservations for stays in Ukrainian cities.

The campaign quickly took flight as many people wanted to help Ukrainians but felt uncertain about donating through charities and nonprofit organizations. People feared that the money donated to these organizations could potentially take too long to reach Ukrainians and many were dubious about how much of that money would actually go to Ukrainians. So, when Marcus suggested an alternative option, many rushed to join the social media campaign.

In the first 24 hours, hundreds of global citizens had made Airbnb bookings in Ukraine “as a way to send immediate assistance to people in hard-hit areas.” Additionally, with those numbers rising rapidly, the social media campaign soon caught the attention of Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who retweeted @quentquarantino’s message with the comment: “People are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine they don’t intend to stay in just to help Hosts.”

Chesky’s retweet received replies both supporting the social media campaign and questioning Airbnb’s involvement. When others questioned whether Airbnb was making a profit from these donations, Chesky replied that the company was not doing so. Meanwhile, when they asked him whether Airbnb would waive fees, he replied with a simple yet firm “Yes.”

How Airbnb Bookings in Ukraine Work

This is a very accessible and effective way to send money directly to Ukrainian citizens. All one needs to do is create an account at Airbnb.com, search for stays in Ukrainian cities and book a reservation. Supporters suggest that people make bookings “as close to a check-in date as possible to ensure hosts receive fees quickly” because Airbnb “typically issues a payout about 24 hours after a guest checks in.”

Supporters also urge people to make reservations at accommodations “operated by individuals and not companies” as it is the individuals who will likely be in a more immediate need of support. The process is very simple and it is also relatively affordable for most supporters. For example, a search on Airbnb.com for stays in Kyiv, Ukraine, for a weekend in April 2022 for one guest will provide “300+ stays” ranging between $20 and $260 for the weekend.

Some of these rates, especially on the lower end of the range, are discounted rates that go as low as $10-$20 per night. The average rate will be $25-$100 per night and the more costly rates will be $110-$130 per night. These wide-ranging rates make reservations a great way for most people to donate to Ukrainians amid the war.

Ukrainian Airbnb Hosts Comment

Media outlets have interviewed several of these Ukrainian Airbnb hosts since the social media campaign began. On March 4, 2022, Volodymyr Bondarenko told CNN that “More than 10 bookings came in today. This was surprising, it’s very supportive at the moment. I told many of my relatives and friends that I plan to use this money to help our people who need it at this time.”

Another host, Ekaterina Martiusheva, spoke to NPR on March 5, 2022, saying the bookings mean a lot to her because “[these days many Ukrainian citizens] do not have any income” and that, unfortunately, Ukrainians “do not have any right to ask [their] country to help [them] because all the country’s resources are for the war and for the victory.” Martiusheva later added: “It’s not just money, it’s the support and encouragement. We get these notes of people who are calling us brave and it does feel great. It’s just amazing, really.”

The Impact

This fast-paced social media campaign has made a great impact in the few weeks since it began. In the first 24 hours, hundreds of global citizens made bookings to lend their support. Forty-eight hours after its start, on March 4, 2022, Airbnb CEO Chesky tweeted saying users booked 61,406 nights in Ukraine, equating to $1.9 million for the hosts.

One week after the campaign’s start, on March 11, 2022, Chesky reported that users booked 434,000 nights and $15 million had reached Ukrainian hosts. Additionally, these numbers have become exponentially larger as the campaign continues. As for Airbnb’s involvement, the company announced on March 4, 2022, that it would waive all fees for “in-country bookings” in Ukraine and Chesky emphasized that the company “will not profit from these charitable bookings.”

More so, Airbnb.org, a charity arm of Airbnb, announced on March 31, 2022, that it would be providing cost-free short-term housing to Ukrainian refugees, adding to the worldwide support and aid provided to Ukrainians. Overall, Ukraine notes an “overwhelming response” from supporters and donors helping Ukrainians. Thanks to this social media campaign, thousands of Ukrainians are receiving immediate aid from worldwide supporters amid the war.

– Marcela Agreda L.
Photo: Flickr

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Sea Rice Boosts Food Security in China

food security in ChinaFor about 65% of the Chinese population, rice is the most essential part of a good diet. In fact, rice is a key part of food security in China. For thousands of years, families in China have farmed rice in large fields called paddies.  Surprisingly, the methods for growing and harvesting have remained the same for thousands of years with farmers still using hand cultivation and livestock-drawn plows. In recent years, soil salinity and overuse of fertilizers have presented challenges to rice production, and thus, food security in China. Fortunately, a Chinese scientist has discovered a way to revolutionize food security through a type of grain called “sea rice.”

How Does Rice Grow?

Fresh, clean water is absolutely essential to rice cultivation and farmers construct rice paddies with that in mind. The rice paddies are made with a relatively watertight subsoil on the bottom and at the borders. This allows for the paddy to hold around five inches of water for most of the growing season. Because the rice-growing field must stay flooded for months on end, if it is not naturally filled with rain or floodwater, it must be irrigated. Rice is also very sensitive to soil salinity (salt content) and pH (acid/base content), and as such, rice cannot grow in what agronomists refer to as saline-alkali soil — earth that is too salty and chemically basic.

Why is Rice Farming in Trouble?

Unfortunately, China has a large amount of this saline-alkali land that cannot be used for agriculture, spanning about 100 million hectares. That is a little more than 386,102 square miles; roughly the size of Egypt.

There is currently a lack of food security in China. According to the World Food Programme, around 150.8 million people endure malnourishment in China. Further, more than 186 million people face the impacts of floods and other crop-destroying national disasters.

Additionally, Chinese farmers have dramatically. increased the amount of fertilizer use in recent decades. As of 2014, the average application rate was 434.3 kg/hectare, which is almost twice the internationally recognized safe upper limit. This plays into a vicious cycle; such excessive long-term use of fertilizer turns previously fertile land saline-alkali, providing an incentive to use even more fertilizer to meet previous productivity levels.

Discovery of Sea Rice

Since the 1950s, there has been a consensus among scientists that these problems could be fixed if farmers could grow rice in saline-alkali soil. In 1986, a Chinese scientist named Chen Risheng finally had a breakthrough. While studying mangrove trees at a beach, he stumbled across a single green stalk sticking out of the ground.

Against all odds, there was a wild rice plant actually growing in saline-alkali soil. Chen collected around 500 grains and began a painstakingly precise breeding process. By 1991, that breeding resulted in about 3.8 kg of precious salt-tolerant grains. Chen named his cultivar “sea-rice 86” and continued selecting, planting and harvesting the seeds for years.

The result? A variety of rice with remarkably valuable characteristics. Chen’s research confirmed that sea-rice 86 (also called SR86) can be planted in heavily saline-alkali soil for six years. Not only does the rice survive but it also improves the soil quality in half that time. This variety of rice can withstand up to three times the amount of salt than other strains.

SR86 is also more resistant to flooding and waterlogging, and in strong conditions, the stem does not break as easily. Thus, the strain is less delicate and more resistant to natural disasters in comparison to regular rice varieties. This rice does not require fertilizer, it is naturally resistant to pests and disease. Furthermore, it is significantly more nutritious than other major rice strains.

Recent Progress with Sea Rice

Since the discovery of SR86, scientists have been working to identify the exact genes that make it so desirable. These efforts have been largely successful, and now, the scientific community has a starting point for future projects involving genetic rice modification as they now know the precise genes that give SR86 its astounding properties. In this way, sea-rice 86 has the potential to strengthen food security in China.

Currently, SR86 and other salt-resistant rice strains have yet to be introduced into the mainstream farming community and market, although rapid progress is in motion. In the autumn of 2021, the Chinese district of Jinghai (a location filled with saline-alkali soil) was able to harvest more than 100 hectares of salt-resistant rice.

The research team that led the harvest has since received 400,000 hectares for the purpose of continuing farming and observation. Additionally, the team is confident that it will be able to cultivate salt-resistant rice across 6.7 million hectares by October 2031.

Risheng, the original pioneer of SR86, has also expressed a desire to turn the area where he found the original rice plant into a preserve where SR86 can be grown all over the beach as a permanent commemoration of the advent of sea rice.

500 Grains Toward Food Security

It is strange to think that a single stalk of rice could provide such a natural solution to enhance food security in China. Because of one plant, the Egypt-sized portion of Chinese land now has agricultural potential. In the future, people will have access to a grain that does not waste freshwater, improves the quality of the soil it grows in, stands strong against the elements, needs no fertilizer and is very nutritious. SR86 provides agronomists today with the tools necessary to solve tomorrow’s problems regarding food security in China.

– Mia Sharpe
Photo: Flickr

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Unemployment in South Africa Soars

Unemployment in South AfricaUnemployment in South Africa reached new highs at the end of 2021, equating to more than 7.9 million individuals between October and December 2021. Typically, high unemployment rates spur predictions of economic decrease and little mobility for the coming fiscal year. The finance ministry expects South Africa’s economic growth rate to reach 2.1% in 2022, however, experts say this is insufficient “to make a meaningful dent in unemployment and poverty.” Despite the economic downturn that South Africans face, especially South African manufacturing and construction workers, there is some hope.

History of Unemployment in South Africa

Unemployment in South Africa has an extensive history and myriad reasons. The unemployment rate is dependent on which unemployment type one is referring to. There is the “standard definition” by which people between 15 and 64 actively search for employment while without a job for a specific time. Then, the expanded definition of unemployment refers to the unemployed “who have stopped looking for work.”

By the end of 2021’s third quarter, unemployment in South Africa stood at 34.9%, according to the standard definition, but stood at 46.6%, according to the expanded definition. Countless factors contribute to unemployment in South Africa. The most significant factors stem from the nation’s “legacy of apartheid,” shortages of jobs and “slow economic growth.”

Unemployment began to drop in South Africa after 2002 when the nation’s unemployment rate was about 34% if using the standard definition. It fell to 22%, the lowest percentage for decades, in 2008, but then, the unemployment rate began to rise again over the years. The 2008 recession hit the global economy and impacted jobs worldwide. South Africa has yet to recover from its losses in 2008. Furthermore, COVID-19 exacerbated the economic downturn and unemployment issues in South Africa.

COVID-19’s Impact on Construction and Manufacturing Workers

Specifically, the losses seem to be impacting the construction and manufacturing industries most in South Africa. Across South Africa, all the provinces had more than 1.3 million employees in the construction industry in the first quarter of 2020. By the last quarter of 2021, the construction industry lost at least 25,000 jobs.

Manufacturing in South Africa is suffering just as much economic downturn as construction, though, having lost 80,000 jobs in the last quarter of 2021. The manufacturing sector faced a 3.3% economic contraction in 2008. Like many areas of South Africa’s economy after the recession, manufacturing is still working to bring back more jobs and support all its workers. Though the outlook may be grim, critical steps can address South Africa’s unemployment drop.

How South Africa Can Recover

According to the standard and expanded definitions of unemployment, South Africa has many courses of action that can help those facing unemployment. The most significant hope across South Africa is that the government will intervene and create policies to help all business sectors in South Africa, not only construction and manufacturing.

There are hopes that more trade in 2022 with the U.S. and China will secure enough work for the country to help the manufacturing industry rebound.

Experts predict that the construction sector will bounce back. Projections indicate that the industry will “rebound in 2022 and expand by 9.1% in real terms.” Then, the construction sector will “stabilize at an annual average growth of 3.1% between 2023-2025, although output will not return to pre-pandemic levels during the entire forecast period.” Government investments in large-scale projects will support this recovery.

Presidential Employment Stimulus

The South African government initiated the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) in response to COVID-19’s impact on employment in South Africa. Overall, the program’s “aim is to create jobs and strengthen livelihoods, supporting meaningful work while the labor market recovers.”

The government implemented the PES in October 2020 to provide economic support to publicly-funded jobs. The stimulus has two phases. Phase 1 worked with regional and national departments to invest in job creation to provide the unemployed with new skills in jobs that could lead to long-term employment. As of January 2022, the PES created more than 673,000 jobs while supporting more than 140,000 livelihoods. Youths made up 85% of the program beneficiaries and females made up 63% of all program beneficiaries.

Officially, Phase 2 is currently in progress with no specific end date as yet. Overall, the PES is beneficial to South Africa in combating unemployment. PES encapsulates several different unemployment-fighting programs in South Africa, which serve to boost the economy and reduce poverty.

Looking Ahead

Several strategies have the potential to decrease unemployment and, in the long run, reduce poverty. In April 2020, the poverty rate in South Africa stood at 55.5% and the predicted economic growth in 2022 is only 2%, which would not significantly improve South Africa’s poverty levels. However, if the government continues to prioritize programs to provide employment opportunities and fund projects to ignite growth in struggling sectors, 2022 may hold greater improvements.

– Clara Mulvihill
Photo: Flickr

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Pure Earth Fights Child Lead Poisoning in India

Child Lead Poisoning
For many people, child lead poisoning can feel similar to a thing of the past, as developed countries have access to resources and information to prevent it. However, lead poisoning is still an all-too-real health concern to millions of people globally.

What is the Situation Surrounding Child Lead Poisoning?

Around the world, more than 800 million children have blood lead concentrations greater than five micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL). To be clear, it is dangerous to have any amount of lead in the bloodstream and five μg/dL is the CDC-established level at which medical intervention is needed. India has one of the highest rates of child lead poisoning, with around 275 million children having a blood lead level (BLL) of more than five μg/dL.

Child lead poisoning in India has many causes, as children can absorb lead almost anywhere in the environment. One can breathe it in, ingest it or absorb it through touch. Water undergoes contamination when it runs through lead pipes. Lead-containing spices and packaging contaminate food. Additionally, toys, paint and traditional Indian cosmetics and medicines can contain lead. Children also undergo exposure when around industries that deal with lead, such as battery recycling plants or mines. Impoverished areas suffer the most from lead poisoning, due to lower levels of awareness, access to medical care and higher amounts of lead in the community infrastructure.

Children’s Exposure to Lead

With so many methods of exposure, it is no wonder that so many Indian children suffer from lead poisoning with consequences that are dire. According to India’s National Health Portal, “Lead is a cumulative toxicant (increasing in quantity in the body over many years) that affects multiple body systems (neurologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and renal systems).”

Furthermore, lead poisoning is detrimental to mental health and causes disability. There is a relationship between childhood exposure and increased violence, aggression and criminal behavior. Annually, more than 500,000 new intellectual disability cases can be directly traced to lead poisoning. Data from UNICEF has shown that, on average, Indian children lose four IQ points as a direct result of lead exposure. UNICEF has stated that “A loss of five points across an entire population could result in a 57% increase in the proportion of the population determined to have intellectual disabilities…This has tremendous implications for both the capacity of society to provide remedial or special education programmes, as well as for their future leadership.”

Pure Earth

For this issue, preventative measures are the best solution. Pure Earth is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that focuses entirely on lead and mercury poisoning in low- and middle-income nations. The NGO is the largest organization dealing with international childhood lead poisoning and it solves lead poisoning one project at a time using a “5-Phase Solution.” The five phases include blood testing, source analyses, source-specific interventions, ongoing monitoring of BLLs and public education.

Each Pure Earth project is highly specific to the location it targets. First, the Pure Earth team will gather BLLs in the area, then the Pure Earth team will identify the most probable exposure sources. Once they have determined where the lead is coming from, they will design an intervention that eliminates the lead source. Finally, Pure Earth will continue to monitor BLLs and educate the citizens of the area about lead poisoning and how to avoid it.

One such project that Pure Earth has completed worked with lead poisoning in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, an Indian community in close proximity to a formal lead smelter. When an assessment found large amounts of lead in the yard of the local school and daycare, Pure Earth designed solutions to protect the residents. The solutions involved intensive cleaning, paving of dangerous outdoor areas, installing a drainage system to divert the runoff from the smelter and implementing a citizen education program.

The Toxic Sites Identification Program

Pure Earth works all over the world, but it has completed several projects in India. Additionally, it is currently operating a Toxic Sites Identification Program, which has identified more than 700 attention-needing locations in India since 2015.

Child lead poisoning can seem overwhelming. There are countless methods of exposure, and it causes sombering irreversible damage. Pure Earth has proved that change can happen by addressing the issue one step at a time.

– Mia Sharpe
Photo: Flickr