Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Canada

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Canada
One can assess the full impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Canada as provinces begin to lift pandemic mandates. Canada felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic economically, with the National Advisory Council on Poverty noting unforeseen yet already developing consequences on national poverty levels.

The latest Canadian Income Survey from 2019 revealed the poverty rate at 10.1%, which saw the federal government spend upward of $72-$84 billion annually in tackling it. The impact of COVID-19 since then has only exacerbated poverty in Canada, with the disruptions to supply chains, market prices and job security that the global pandemic has caused.

Impact on Employment

Employment rates have continued to fluctuate throughout the pandemic after initially seeing an unprecedented 3 million Canadians (9%) lose their jobs, all of whom had been below the national average income. Employment rates steadily recovered as transmission rates dropped and Canadian provinces gradually lifted mandated measures. However, youth unemployment rates gradually increased and remain behind pre-pandemic levels.

Employment rates returned to pre-pandemic levels by fall 2021 while continuing to be volatile. The omicron variant surge saw the loss of 200,000 jobs, mainly in service and public sectors, which shows the lasting and developing COVID-19 impact has on job security. Regarding job security, the impact on employment COVID-19 has disproportionately affected service and public sector jobs. In contrast, the scientific and technical sectors have seen a growth in employment rates in the same period. This disproportionate, developing impact on lower-income workers could potentially exacerbate poverty rates in the coming years.

In response to the income insecurity and fluctuating employment rates, the Canadian federal government rolled out multiple economic assistance programs in the wake of COVID-19. The pandemic expanded unemployment insurance and provided wage subsidies. The largest and most widely available was the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Backed with a $100 billion fund, CERB was the largest economic assistance package in Canadian history since World War II. CERB provided unemployed Canadians with a $2,000 monthly stipend, two-thirds of monthly employment income for the average Canadian. CERB ended in December 2021, mitigating much of the impact that COVID-19 could have had on poverty. In the wake of CERB’s success, the British Columbia Expert Panel on Basic Income report recommended the permanent expansion of public-funded services similar to CERB. Continued public assistance can counter developing poverty while employment rates fluctuate as the pandemic slowly ends.

Rising Food Prices & Cost of Living

Food prices drastically increased in Canada throughout the pandemic due to the supply chain shortages the global disruption COVID-19 is causing. As a result, grocery prices increased by 5.7% in 2021, the biggest annual gain since 2011. The 2022 Canada’s Food Price Report annual report from the Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph projects that 2022 will see “the highest increase [in food prices] that we’re predicting in 12 years, both in terms of dollars and percentage.” Here are some predictions for where food prices could go by 2022 according to Canada’s Food Price Report.

“ Type of Food       Expected Price increase in 2022

Restaurants        6-8%

Dairy                       6-8%

Baked Goods      5-7%

Vegetables          5-7%

Fruits                     3-5%

Other                     2-4%

Seafood                0-2%”

How Increasing Food Prices is Impacting the Impoverished

The growing price of food has impacted lower-income populations in Canada, with the number of food bank visits increasing by more than 20% in the first four months of the pandemic. An Ottawa resident stated that “I can’t afford to go to the grocery store to buy fruit.” In addition, inflating food prices are growing, affecting middle-income populations. An Ontario resident told the CBC that “People that didn’t even talk about high food costs before are now struggling with it, too.” A recent survey response stated that Canadians have changed their food consumption habits, including relying on coupons, cutting out restaurants and switching to more affordable diets.

COVID-19’s impact on food prices in Canada will continue to develop from 2022 onwards and will disproportionately affect lower-income populations, potentially exacerbating poverty rates. In anticipation, the federal government established the Emergency Food Security Fund in April 2020 to “help improve access to food for people experiencing food insecurity in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” investing $100 million into Canadian food banks and other similar organizations. The government invested more money into the fund throughout the pandemic, adding a further $100 million in August 2021 and $30 million in December 2021. Matching investments into food banks and other similar programs to the rate of food prices’ inflation projected by the 2020 Canada Food Price Report will be key to countering the long-term impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Canada.

Tackling the Future

While COVID-19 has impacted job and food security for those living in poverty in Canada, the worst of its burnt has passed as provinces lift restrictions. The impact of the pandemic has seen valuable lessons gained in the present and future battle against systemic poverty. The 2021 report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty identified the root of COVID-19’s exacerbation of Canadian poverty lay in preexisting structural issues that discriminate against lower-income workers, Indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and women. This recognition shows that the impact of COVID-19 on poverty has resulted in a new commitment to the inclusion of this holistic structural approach in tackling poverty post-pandemic, boding well for the future of Canadian public policy.

– Majeed Malhas
Photo: Flickr

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USAID Partners in Ethiopia

USAID Partners in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is currently enduring its worst drought in decades. The nation has not experienced a successful rainy season “since late 2020” and the continued lack of rainfall has had devastating consequences. The drought directly affects more than 6 million Ethiopians through water shortages, crop failures and livestock deaths. This is especially devastating because the agricultural industry contributes 40% to Ethiopia’s GDP and employs roughly 75% of Ethiopians as of March 2022. The ongoing Tigray War only exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia as fighting in the north of the country continues to displace civilians and disrupts access to economic markets. Both of these developments place a disproportionate burden on the rural population who stand as the most economically vulnerable. Based on the most recent available data from 2016, the percentage of Ethiopians living below the national poverty line is 15% in urban areas but 26% in rural areas. The drought only threatens to broaden this divide as it most negatively affects rural populations that depend upon agriculture. In light of this crisis and its effects on impoverished rural populations, many USAID partners in Ethiopia have stepped in to help.

USAID’s Response

The United States is Ethiopia’s largest donor of foreign aid and the two countries have a close developmental relationship that goes back to the early 1900s. The United States Agency of International Development (USAID) distributed $402 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia during the fiscal year 2021 and continues its commitment in the face of this deepening crisis. USAID channels funds through partner organizations like UNICEF that have specific directives and fields of expertise. Here are three major USAID partners in Ethiopia that are delivering specialized care to those in need:

3 USAID Partners in Ethiopia

  1. Catholic Relief Services: Partly due to the drought’s widespread effects on livestock and agriculture, an estimated 20.4 million Ethiopians lack dependable access to food as of December 2021. Partnering with USAID to combat this growing food insecurity is the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), a nonprofit whose mission is to provide emergency relief to victims of civil conflict and natural disasters around the world. It leads the Joint Emergency Operation (JEOP), which comprises numerous development-based NGOs and other USAID partners in Ethiopia. Since June 2021, the JEOP has reached approximately 3.4 million people affected by the crisis with crucial food assistance, which it sources primarily from U.S. agriculture.
  2. UNICEF: With the financial support of USAID, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is currently conducting an extensive immunization campaign in the war-torn Tigray region. In the first two months of 2022 alone, the campaign successfully provided measles vaccinations to almost 700,000 children. This is part of a larger children’s health campaign that also saw the simultaneous distribution of vitamin A supplements and deworming tablets. This is crucial in Ethiopia where the under-five child mortality rate is 48.7 deaths per 1,000 lives as of 2020. UNICEF intends to provide measles vaccinations to 3 million Ethiopian children by the end of 2022.
  3. International Medical Corps: The International Medical Corps (IMC) is a USAID partner that delivers emergency medical services during times of crisis. In Ethiopia, the IMC has concentrated its efforts on those displaced by the Tigray War. The IMC currently manages 23 mobile medical units that have served more than 804,000 displaced people since the onset of the conflict in November 2020. These units have also administered about 233,000 outpatient consultations while screening 146,510 children younger than five as well as pregnant/lactating women for acute malnutrition as of February 2022. Mobile medical units are crucial as the conflict renders many of the country’s health care facilities inoperative. Mobile care is especially important in remote areas with even more restricted access to traditional care. USAID provided the IMC with $4 million in the fiscal year 2021 to fund its activities in the region, and in total, the IMC and other USAID partners have implemented more than 60 of these life-saving mobile medical units across the country since the start of the conflict.

Looking Forward

In a major win for USAID partners in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government decided in February 2022 to lift the national state of emergency (SoE) that had been active since early November 2021. The SoE had justified the unwarranted detention of foreign aid workers and generally impeded international assistance programs. All aid workers are no longer arbitrarily detained on account of suspicions of connections to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and humanitarian relief efforts can continue with renewed vigor. The U.S. Department of State has also praised this development as an important step toward the peaceful conclusion of the Tigray conflict, which bodes well for the overall stability of the region.

With this hopeful development in Tigray and the sustained assistance efforts of the international community, there is cause for optimism. Ethiopia has weathered the turbulent onset of this crisis, but there is still a need for long-term solutions, especially with regard to rural poverty. For the time being though, the humanitarian initiatives of USAID and its partners help lay the crucial groundwork in human capital, which is a solid first step in Ethiopia’s equitable development.

– Jack Leist
Photo: Flickr

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The Starbucks Foundation’s Philanthropic Mission

Starbucks Foundation Continues Its Philanthropic Mission
Starbucks has consistently provided aid to numerous areas of the world through the Starbucks Foundation. Recently, the Starbucks Foundation announced that it would be expanding its aid to add more programs for women and girls to seek out entrepreneurial opportunities. In addition, the Foundation also announced it would be giving a $30 million grant to global nonprofit organizations. The Starbucks Foundation is continuing its philanthropic mission of ending inequities globally. Additionally, it is setting an example regarding the importance that all companies work to alleviate global poverty.

What is the Starbucks Foundation?

The Starbucks Foundation’s mission is to “strengthen humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster.” The Starbucks Foundation offers a number of different programs to benefit communities in need. Here are its four main initiatives.

  1. Neighborhood Grants: The Starbucks Foundation offers neighborhood grants to allow partner organizations to nominate a local nonprofit organization to receive investments in their volunteer activities.
  2. Disaster Response: Starbucks supports initiatives that extend assistance to those in emergency crises.
  3. International Giving: The organization invests in global initiatives that respond to issues within local communities to provide aid and support.
  4. Origin Grants: Starbucks provides aid to tea- and coffee-growing communities, especially those providing assistance to women and girls.

Expanding Origins Program

The Starbucks Foundation recently announced that it is expanding its Origins Grant Program to help 1 million more women and girls. The Origins Program relies on three pillars which include promoting economic opportunity, promoting women’s leadership and increasing access to clean water and sanitation. Specifically, Starbucks is now working to establish childcare facilities that allow mothers to work while their children are getting the attention that they need in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Starbucks is also currently establishing a new project with the Wakami Foundation. The Wakami Foundation comes from the brand Wakami, a bracelet company. The Wakami Foundation seeks to connect rural communities with the global marketplace, which coincides with the Starbucks Foundation’s mission of encouraging rural integration into markets abroad. It specifically focuses on the empowerment of female businesses as well.

The Starbucks Foundation and Wakami Foundation are teaming up to find women entrepreneurs in Guatemala to help them pursue their business goals. The two organizations are creating a women’s group to create products that will sell well in the global market. Also, the Starbucks Foundation is continuing its philanthropic mission by reintroducing agricultural measures including giving more chickens to rural areas to sell eggs in local markets.

Increasing Neighborhood Grants

The Starbucks Foundation also announced that it would be investing $30 million by 2030 in its newly established Global Community Impact Grants portfolio. This new addition to the Starbucks Foundation will impact communities around the world near Starbucks establishments, specifically in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Starbucks will extend its philanthropic mission by working with partner organizations in each region to promote a cause. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, Starbucks will work with the Alsea Foundation to support youth development and hunger. The Alsea Foundation is an extension of the restaurant Alsea, which seeks to combat child malnutrition, having served more than 2 million meals.

– Rachel Reardon
Photo: Flickr

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Gene-edited Crops to Enhance Food Security in China

Food Security in China
On January 24, 2022, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs published new guidelines for the approval of gene-edited crops. These guidelines come amid an influx of measures “aimed at overhauling China’s seed industry” and ensuring the nation has the ability to provide enough food for its own people as the world’s largest population. Given the Chinese government’s strong investment in gene-editing, it is important to examine the impact of this technology on food security in China.

Barriers to Food Security in China

  • Limited Fertile Land: China has about “20% of the world’s population” to provide food with only 7% of arable land. In 2016, Beijing established a “red line” with the aim to set aside a minimum of “120 million hectares of arable land” for agricultural purposes. However, industrialization, urbanization and the growing preference for the cultivation of cash crops over grains and legumes have “accelerated the loss of agricultural land since then.” With soil fertility becoming increasingly poor, China is at the risk of falling below its red line.
  • Lack of Self-Sufficiency in Food Production: Greater self-sufficiency in grains, soybean and oil crops production is a policy priority for the Chinese government in efforts to maintain food security in China. For example, as of 2020, China has relied on imports to supply about 85% of its soybeans. While this has allowed China to stock up on other staples, such as rice, wheat and corn, many view the nation’s reliance on imported soybeans as a weakness for stability and food security in China. In 2021, “China imported a record 164.5 million tonnes of grain,” an 18.1% increase from 2020. China’s weak influence in global supply chains has caused its food self-sufficiency rate to decrease from 101.8% in 2000 to just 76.8% in 2020. This is a percentage experts predict will decline further to 65% by 2035. Also, the pandemic-induced setbacks for food exporting nations have heightened concerns about the reliance on imports for stability and food security in China. With the increasing demand for measures that allow for self-sufficiency and import diversification, the Chinese government has turned to gene editing for a breakthrough.

What is Gene Editing?

Simply put, gene editing is the altering of a plant’s genes to adjust or enhance its performance. Unlike its counterpart, gene modification, which introduces a foreign gene into a plant’s DNA, gene editing tweaks existing genes in plants to make genes more efficient.

The process involves the use of biological catalysts, such as “transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) and CRISPR/Cas systems” that can “be engineered to bind to any DNA sequence.” The main advantages of gene editing are affordability, precision and efficiency. With gene editing, plant breeders can achieve results comparable to traditional breeding methods but within a shorter period of time and “with greater precision than ever before.” In addition, gene editing can curb hunger and malnutrition by providing higher-yielding, nutritious crops that are resilient to pests, diseases and environmental changes, thus sustaining the agricultural economies of areas that rely on farming produce for both food security and income. In crop science, genome editing has shown the ability to create less sugary potatoes and “a soybean containing high levels of omega-3.”

China’s Gene Editing Guidelines

Although China has performed more extensive research on gene editing than any other country, none of the gene-altered crops have yet reached commercialization. However, the new guidelines may change that. The guidelines “stipulate that once gene-edited plants have completed pilot trials, a production certificate can be applied for, skipping the lengthy field trials required for the approval of a [genetically modified] plant.” This means that approval for a gene-edited plant could range from one to two years in comparison to about six years for genetically modified plants. The crop must “also pose no danger to the environment and China’s food security.” Researchers are confident that these new trial rules will significantly boost the “yields, taste and resilience” of crops, thereby strengthening food security in China.

Looking Ahead

In light of this, many researchers are actively working to research and develop a successful gene-edited crop. For example, Caixin Gao, a plant biologist and an employee of the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Genetics and Development Biology, worked “on developing a strain of wheat that combats mildew since 2014.” Although Gao’s research team could remove the gene that “makes wheat prone to fungal growth,” the wheat’s post-editing growth faced stunting. However, since realizing that the issue stems from the inadequate repression of the sugar-producing gene, the researchers strongly believe that they have managed to isolate a high-yielding, fungal-resistant wheat strain. Therefore, this crop may be among the first to receive approval for commercialization. Overall, gene-edited crops show potential to enhance food security in China and across the world.

– Divine Adeniyi
Photo: Unsplash

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The Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative

Rehabilitation 2030 initiative
The World Health Organization (WHO) has made rehabilitation one of its top priorities over the next several years through the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative. This program strives to increase the availability and accessibility of rehabilitation services around the world. According to WHO, rehabilitation involves “a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment.” Treatment can involve a combination of assistive devices, counseling and therapy to achieve this outcome. Unfortunately, “in some low- and middle-income countries, more than 50% of people do not receive the rehabilitation services” necessary to live a better quality of life. The Rehabilitation 2030 initiative seeks to address this.

The Global Need for Rehabilitation

Hundreds of millions of malaria cases occur every year with the large majority happening in developing tropical nations in Africa and Southeast Asia. Around 10% of malaria survivors experience significant cognitive and neurological impairments that can impact their motor function, hearing and sight and their ability to process information. Rehabilitative techniques, such as cognitive therapy, can treat these disorders and give people a chance to improve their health and quality of life. Unfortunately, cognitive exercises and other similar rehab treatments are not widely available in many countries with high rates of malaria.

Over the past decade, the prevalence of diseases associated with severe disabilities has increased by more than 20%. This includes ailments like rheumatoid arthritis and cancer that can take a heavy physical toll on an individual, limiting one’s independence. The technologies and knowledge to rehabilitate many of these symptoms exist, but their availability is inadequate in many parts of the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In fact, the availability of trained rehabilitation specialists is about 10 per one million people.

Even when these services are readily available, cost, lack of transportation and waiting times serve as constraints to accessibility. Individuals with disabilities who go without rehabilitation are likely to remain hospitalized for longer and are at higher risk of developing complications. They are also less likely to achieve the independence required to return to employment and their social roles.

Disabilities and Poverty

Around “50% of disabilities are preventable” and tie closely with poverty. Unmanaged disability can become an obstacle to education, impacting literacy rates. According to a 2000 publication by the Department for International Development (DFID), UNESCO estimates that “1–2% of children with disabilities in developing countries receive an education.” Without access to an adequate education, people with disabilities are unlikely to find gainful employment. In turn, many of those individuals cannot pay for the cost of their own care, placing that burden on other family members.

In addition, families members may have to drop out of school or work to care for the person with a disability, reducing household incomes and closing the doors to future prosperity. These outcomes not only hurt those with disabilities and their families but also the societies that host them. Communities without adequate rehabilitation services bear financial burdens that go beyond direct medical costs, such as the loss of otherwise productive members of society who previously could contribute to the economy.

Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative

In 2017, more than 200 stakeholders met in Geneva to support WHO’s “Rehabilitation 2030: a call for action” conference. From this, the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative was born with an emphasis on three points:

  1. The open availability of rehabilitation for all populations.
  2. To strengthen and integrate rehabilitation into larger health care systems.
  3. To acknowledge that rehabilitation is an important service to develop to reach universal health coverage.

Under this initiative, participating nations accept these three points and agree to commit themselves to 10 areas of action. These areas address the need for rehab financing, the strengthening of networks that connect people and health care services and the need for further research into rehabilitation. In support of these goals, WHO has lent technical assistance to more than 20 countries in the creation of strategic plans. In 2019, representatives from member states and organizations reconvened and shared their strategies and progress with each other, reifying their commitments to increasing the availability of rehabilitation.

There is a growing need for expanding the availability of rehabilitative care around the world. Untreated disability can constrain people’s learning and economic potential. Fortunately, many nations around the world are acknowledging the importance of rehabilitative care through their commitments to the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative and strive to improve services.

– Gonzalo Rodriguez
Photo: Flickr

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Strengthening the Education System in Nigeria

Education System in Nigeria
The education system in Nigeria faces several barriers, however, organizations are working to strengthen these systems, recognizing that education is the pathway out of poverty. Geographical difficulties, gender inequality and circumstances of poverty impact students’ abilities to attend school.

Education in Nigeria

In Nigeria, primary education is “free and compulsory,” yet the primary school net enrollment rate stood at just 64% in 2010, according to the latest available data. In the northern region of Nigeria, net school attendance rates are particularly low at just 53%, according to UNICEF. UNICEF also highlights the gender disparities in school enrollment, with just 58% of girls enrolled in primary school in 2010. These disparities are greater in the north because there are more economic barriers and socio-cultural norms that discourage school attendance, especially that of females.

Secondary education is helpful in bettering the development of the country and securing higher-paying job opportunities for the population. Over the years, Nigeria has made strides in gross secondary school enrollment rates, going from nearly 32% in 2007 to 43% in 2018, which is a significant change although still low. If one analyzes further, gender disparities are still visible in secondary education with 42% of girls enrolled in 2018 in comparison to 44% of males.

Population Increase

The population in Nigeria has increased significantly over the years, standing at 206 million people and making Nigeria the most populated country on the African continent. This population growth, however, means there are not enough schools to adequately serve the entire population. Overcrowded classrooms in Nigeria are not uncommon — UNESCO recommends 30 students per teacher yet many classes contain more than 100 students. Overcrowded classrooms are difficult to manage and are not conducive to both learning and teaching.

Lack of Equipment and Teacher Shortages

Because there is a general shortage of school resources, facilities and equipment, many schools must share laboratories and equipment. This serves as a barrier to learning because learning depends on the accessibility of the laboratory or equipment. Because there is also a shortage of teachers in the secondary education system in Nigeria (less than 50% of the required number of teachers), teachers cannot give students individualized attention because there are so many students in a classroom.

One of the main problems that threaten the education system in Nigeria is “ineffective monitoring of the implementation of educational policy.” In addition, there are disparities in resources allocated to government schools versus public schools, the latter often enduring fewer resources and equipment.

Nigeria Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP)

Beginning in 2015 with a budget of $100 million, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has helped train and improve the quality of teachers in five Nigerian states through the Nigeria Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP). The overall aim of the project was to keep children in school, with a particular focus on girls, and increase the quality of education, even in religious schools.

Each school decides how to use the grants from the advice of the school management committees because schools know their unique needs. Overall, the GPE support in Nigeria has benefited more than 46,000 schools through learning environment improvements. The GPE assistance also allowed for the training of more than 132,000 educators and scholarships for more than 417,000 girls to purchase school attire and supplies.

The program came to a close in 2020 but the GPE continues to help Nigeria to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19  pandemic. At the peak of the pandemic in June 2020, the “GPE approved a $15 million COVID-19 emergency grant to support the country’s response to the pandemic in 16 states.” In August 2020, the GPE gave Nigeria a grant of $20 million to support the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, “focusing on girls and internally displaced children, as well as host and marginalized communities who are suffering from lack of access to education.”

Looking Ahead

Education provides skills that increase job opportunities and earnings while helping to protect people from socio-economic vulnerabilities. A more equitable expansion of education would reduce inequality and lift the impoverished from the bottom rung of the ladder. Therefore, improving the education system in Nigeria would help improve inequality and poverty rates in the country.

– Ander Moreno
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Thailand

The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in ThailandThe second country, after China, to report a COVID-19 case, Thailand has experienced tumultuous economic and social fluctuations following the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. Thailand was particularly impacted in late 2020 and early 2021, during which the nation suffered from high unemployment rates, reduced incomes and increased food insecurity. Consequently, the pandemic plunged an estimated 800,000 people into poverty in Thailand.

Exacerbated Economic Ramifications

At a glance, Thailand’s GDP fell by 6.1% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thailand saw an eight-point decline in unemployment in urban areas and based on a 2020 World Bank survey, 50% of respondents reported that the pandemic negatively affected their jobs. Similarly, 70% of respondents reported a decline in household income, with the pandemic hitting rural, low-income households the hardest.

The country’s tourism sector, accounting for 20% of nationwide employment and a fifth of the nation’s GDP, faced stagnant tourism flows amid travel bans. Consequently, Thailand’s tourism slowdown significantly affected low-skilled workers, particularly women and children, in the tourism industry.

Government Initiatives Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

In light of pandemic adversities, the Thai government responded swiftly to mitigate the crisis. A policy package, consisting of a fiscal stimulus equivalent to 10% of GDP helped the nation avoid an economic and social crisis. The World Bank reported that 780,000 additional people would have fallen into poverty without the Thai government’s introduction of financial packages.

The government’s “No One Left Behind” program in 2020 also helped mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Thailand; the government provided 80% of farming households with monthly cash transfers. In addition, the introduction of a farmers’ assistance program reached 63% of the government’s target audience.

The Current Status of Poverty Levels in Thailand

Thailand’s road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic remains promising. The  unemployment rate declined by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2022 and estimates indicate that poverty levels should decline to the country’s pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the country’s economy is projected to expand by 2.9% by the end of 2022. Notably, more than 57.3 million people, more than 80% of Thailand’s overall population, have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Nonetheless, while Thailand’s economic and social sectors have improved since 2020, the nation is still facing the impacts of COVID-19 on poverty in Thailand. According to the World Bank, Thai households’ average labor income has declined while household debt has increased by 25%, resulting in increased loans to support lifestyles.

Future Undertakings

Thailand is continuing to increase its vaccination rates and boost its tourism sector to revitalize its economy. As of October 1, 2022, the Tourism of Authority of Thailand has lifted Thailand’s border restrictions, allowing travelers to visit Thailand without proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Additionally, in August 2022, the Thai government extended the previously 30-day tourist stay in Thailand to 45 days.

Amid Thailand’s reintroduction of tourism, future poverty levels remain elusive. Granting visitors extended stay without proof of a COVID-19 test could potentially bring a new wave of cases to the nation. Nonetheless, Thailand’s revitalized tourism sector will surely help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Thailand. Hopefully, increased tourism will reinvigorate Thailand’s slow economy, declining poverty levels and boosting household income for good.

– Emma He
Photo: Unsplash

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Benefits of Girls’ Education In Niger

Girls’ Education In Niger
Niger, a country of 25 million people located in landlocked West Africa, is amid a wide-scale education crisis. Extreme poverty, unsafe schools, low-quality education, border conflicts, risk of sexual harassment and conservative gender norms significantly impact girls’ education in Niger. However, investing in the improvement of Nigerien girls’ education could improve the economy, create safer societies, increase women’s literacy rates, reduce child marriage and minimize conflicts, among many more benefits.

Nigerien Education Crisis

Niger currently lies at the bottom of the Girls’ Opportunity Index and is one of the most difficult countries for a girl to receive a full 12 years of education. Girls often have to travel long distances to get to school and face a significant risk of sexual harassment along the way. Another barrier to girls’ education in Niger is strict gender norms, including expectations that women solely participate in childcare, cooking and obtaining water from wells. Only 14% of women are literate in comparison to 42% of men. Improved girls’ education in Niger could have prominent social and economic impacts.

Benefits of Girls’ Education in Niger

  1. Women Gain More Economic Power: Nigerien women who have had an education have more control over their economic decisions. Experts determine that education for women can lead to a 0.3% increase in a country’s GDP. Additionally, with only one extra year of education, women’s earnings can increase by 20%. Women also have more power to make decisions on farms if they have higher education levels. Niger’s economy is primarily centered around agriculture, so this power to make agriculture-related decisions is advantageous for women individually as well as the country’s economy as a whole.
  2. Lower Rates of Child Marriage: About 75% of girls in Niger marry by the time they reach 15 years old and 45% of girls become pregnant by the age of 18. Girls who receive an education are less likely to enter into child marriage and become pregnant through force. Education gives young girls more opportunities while establishing independence and self-sufficiency in addition to providing knowledge to make informed decisions.
  3. Health Improvements: A child is 50% more likely to live past 5 years old if the child’s mother obtained a higher education. Additionally, the child has twice the potential of attending school themselves and a 50% higher chance of receiving vaccinations. Educated mothers also have more potential of having a say over when they will have children and how many children they will have. This demonstrates how girls’ education can contribute to the general improvement of people’s health and the well-being of the future generation.

Improvements in Girls Education

President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum has made girls’ education a primary focus of his mandate so that the country can reap the abundant benefits of girls’ education in Niger. President Bazoum recognizes that education is critical for the future of Niger and plans to focus on developing the education sector for the well-being of the nation’s young girls. He has committed to increasing Niger’s education budget to 22% by 2024. He has also promised to establish more schools and school dormitories so that fewer girls need to embark on risky journeys to get to their schools. Lastly, Bazoum has implemented a ‘zero straw-hut schools’ initiative, which will facilitate the building of better quality school infrastructure to improve the teaching environment.

Improving girls’ education will provide economic, social and health advantages, which will enhance the quality of life in Niger. The benefits of girls’ education in Niger stand to serve not just women but the entire population and should undergo implementation imminently.

– Isabella Elmasry
Photo: Flickr

How EAA is A Model of Ethical Development

Ethical Development
With the ease and opportunity of the globalized market, it is typically advantageous for companies to outsource their production to developing countries where labor is cheap. This incentivizes manufacturers in these countries to cut their production costs as much as possible in order to maintain an edge over their competitors, which they often accomplish by slashing wages and overlooking workplace safety regulations. Described as a “race to the bottom,” this competitive dynamic forces manufacturers to constantly degrade their standards of production and places a crushing burden on workers, which impedes the ethical development of many poor countries globally.

Ethical Apparel Africa

Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA) offers an alternative to this race to the bottom by presenting a responsible model of outsourced production. EAA is an apparel manufacturing and sourcing company that currently partners with five factories in Benin and Ghana. It provides partner factories with expert guidance to improve the quality, capacity and efficiency of their production process. It also connects the partner factories with clients by persuading overseas companies to outsource their manufacturing needs to West Africa.

This operation is lucrative as the EAA facilitated roughly $5 million in exports in 2021 and the EAA expects to hit $7 million in 2022. In return for this boost in output, their partner factories reinvest their profits into the community by creating jobs, paying livable wages and offering generous employee benefits.

Job Creation

As of October 2021, EAA has created more than 1,000 local jobs and aims to create 4,000 more by 2027. On average, workers in the jobs make around four times their prior income and the workers also receive numerous employee benefits ranging from nursing care and subsidized transport to performance bonuses and free lunches. The free lunches are particularly impactful as only 33% of surveyed workers ate three square meals a day before working at EAA.

As part of its approach to ethical development, EAA is also committed to employing women, who make up around 70% of its workforce. Thanks in large part to the “race to the bottom” and its effects on exploitative workplace practices, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that roughly 25 million people around the world are subject to forced labor. The practices disproportionately affect women and women make up 71% of forced laborers. Beyond the obvious moral objections to this modern slavery, promoting gender equality in employment is key for the region’s sustainable growth. Research shows that it equates with greater productivity, higher levels of economic resilience and more equitable distribution of incomes.

Why Africa?

There are several reasons why West Africa is a solid economic investment, and EAA’s model of ethical development shows how to utilize these advantages rather than exploit them.

  1. Duty-Free Access to the U.S. and Europe – Since the implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in 2000, Africa has had duty-free access to the U.S. market, which gives it a 15% to 30% advantage in shipping costs over other foreign exporters. Africa also has duty-free access to the EU market thanks to its Everything But Arms initiative, through which it receives a similar edge over most other exporters.
  2. Strong Workforce – Africa will likely experience massive population growth over the next several decades. With the population expected to double by 2050, labor will be abundantly available. By investing in the region now, EAA is building long-term relationships with the emerging powerhouse of Africa’s workforce.
  3. Raw Material Potential – West Africa is the sixth largest regional producer of cotton in the world and exports more than four times as much cotton as East Africa. However, it currently exports 95% of this cotton in its raw form. Manufacturers including the EAA have the opportunity to invest in spinning and weaving capacities in order to boost this export value and redistribute it within the region.
  4. Longevity – Ghana has a long history of economic and political stability, which ensures the dependable utilization of any economic value that EAA generates. The West African middle class is also growing rapidly, which represents a promising supply of human capital and a potential consumer market.

These reasons mean that West Africa will likely become a major producer of international goods in the next several decades. EAA’s work in West Africa provides a model of equitable production that can help manage this expected growth in a responsible manner. By guaranteeing satisfactory wages and working conditions, their manufacturers are alleviating poverty and laying the groundwork for the region’s ethical development.

– Jack Leist
Photo: Flickr

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How The Awareness Company Can Help Farmers

Helps Farmers
The Awareness Company develops information technology by using satellites, sensors, trackers, fusion engines and camera traps to improve and structure businesses globally. This technology can also help farmers be successful, subsequently improving food security and reducing food shortages globally.

What is Agritech?

Agritech is the use of technology while farming, most commonly to ensure proper growth and efficient profit for the farmers involved. People mostly use the umbrella term Agritech to refer to agriculture ranging from weather forecasting, photography by satellite, irrigation and heat and light control.

What is The Awareness Company?

The Awareness Company started in 2018 with co-founders Praiaash Ramadeen, Estelle Lubbe and Shazia Vawda in Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon its start, the Awareness Company produces HYDRA Intelligent Places, Smart Mining, Agriculture and Conservation for global use. Ecological employees and businesses can use the programs about local security, safety awareness, maintenance and conservation to inform and educate community members.

The Awareness Company has four projects they are working on with the help of technology to improve agriculture globally including FarmSecurity, FarmAwareness, AgriOne and AgriInsights. The programs give real-time data management about livestock location, water and soil analysis and insights for selling products that are otherwise unavailable for farmers working without Agritech. The technology can ensure a proper harvest and indicate if plants need more attention or focus.

How Agriculture and Technology Can Reduce Global Poverty

Technology can help improve food security and help farmers protect their land, animals and communities. The assistance of satellites, drones and automatic equipment can drastically change the crop yield and sustainability of a farm. The global use of this equipment will provide more food for low-income countries whose communities would benefit from the additional food without the hassle of possible future mistakes that could lead to the destruction of a farm. Reduced prices, higher crop productivity and worker safety are all important parts of building a safe and healthy environment that ensures the growth of a country regarding its food supply for citizens.

Food security is essential for stopping global poverty. With the help of technology, agriculture receives more jobs and a boost in the economy. As a result, fewer people will starve and food shortages both locally and globally will decrease. According to the USDA, positive impacts include poverty reduction, trade and export opportunities, global security and improved citizen health and health care. The help of technology can strengthen and prevent any future disasters that may arise. By alerting the farmer with the knowledge of the new technologies and introducing the machinery/software, the farmer will be able to accomplish more knowing what was unavailable before is now available for the enrichment of their work.

The Future of Agritech with The Awareness Company

The Awareness Company won Microsoft’s AgriChallenge, where Microsoft announced and invited different technology companies to show what the companies could do in August 2020. After the investment from Microsoft in December 2021, The Awareness Company’s Co-Founder and CEO Praiaash Ramadeen said “That’s why Microsoft’s support and investment in helping us as a local, homegrown business to grow and develop solutions that focus on solving real-world problems is so meaningful… we have already done in the agricultural space to promote sustainable agriculture and food security through intelligent data.”

The Awareness Company can help farmers find reliable solutions to arising problems globally through the use of technology. With 2 to 4 million small farmers in South Africa, the use of artificial intelligence can provide a helpful boost in the daily lives of both farmers and consumers.

– Kyle Swingle
Photo: Flickr