Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Thailand’s Upcycled Water Bottles During COVID-19

Upcycled Water Bottles
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that, since January 3, 2020, there have been more than 1.6 million official cases of COVID-19 in Thailand. While the country has around 70 million people, the data demonstrate a significant rate of infection. As of October 4, 2021, approximately 55 million of Thailand’s citizens have had vaccines administered to them. Thankfully, this is not the only good news to come out of the country’s battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. The textile company Thai Taffeta has recently come up with a sustainable means of fighting off the virus, involving upcycled water bottles.

Reduce: How Thai Taffeta PPE Came to Be

During the height of the pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) in Thailand was alarmingly scarce. This shortage increased medical staff’s risk of contracting COVID-19 while also exposing them to other hazardous diseases and potential injuries. At the same time, as the Southeast Asian country with the second-largest economy, Thailand’s consumerism creates a lot of plastic waste. When the general rate of infection of COVID-19 in Thailand grew and protection gear started dwindling in hospitals, a textile company based in Bangkok introduced a new, life-saving technology. As of September 3, 2021, Thai Taffeta has been using the nation’s overabundance of plastic waste — mostly upcycled water bottles — as an advantage, subsequently saving lives and helping the environment.

Reuse: How Thai Taffeta Makes its PPE

According to Thai Taffeta, it takes about 18 upcycled water bottles to make one PPE suit. Thus far, Thai Taffeta has collected about 18 million plastic bottles to create personal protective equipment. The process is relatively simple and involves reducing the typical resources necessary for making protective gear and breaking down the plastic waste into malleable filaments that then get upcycled. Donated fibers are combined with the upcycled material. The product is the PPE necessary for doctors and medical staff to better equip themselves with while facing the threat of infection.

Thai Taffeta’s executive vice president, Supoj Chaiwilal, said that the fabrics are “made of 100% recycled PET yarns to produce Level 3 PPE coveralls.” This particular level of protection ensures that the suits are water-resistant and can even keep out blood and viruses from the external environment. Manufacturers dye some of the gear a reddish-orange color for a select group of the PPE’s recipients: Buddhist monks.

Recycle: Accessibility of PPE

While Buddhist monks have access to this textile innovation, needing it to conduct cremation processes safely, it is also available to high-risk patients. Though Thailand’s response to the pandemic was relatively strong, it was not without weaknesses. Had the government not responded to the economic crisis with relief measures, the poverty rate in Thailand would have increased to an estimated 7.4% in the span of one year. However, the 6.2% of Thailand’s population living under the poverty line, who are more susceptible to infection and fiscal devastation, could certainly benefit from a maintained social protection program implemented by the country’s government. Therefore, the introduction of sustainable personal protective equipment in Thailand is critical for health safety in the fight against COVID-19. PPE to more individuals better allows for a deceased spread from continuing to permeate and affect the lives of low-income families.

Looking Forward

Thai Taffeta’s website boasts, “All for one[,] the journey of sustainability.” Indeed, the upcycled plastic waste personal protective equipment in Thailand is an innovation many people marvel at. Operating in a cyclically economic mode, the broken down plastic serves to benefit the environment and reduce the number of resources needed to create new goods while also combatting the rate of infection. The slogan also touches on the immense value of a unified fight against the virus, pressing for eradicating disparate circumstances while simultaneously urging the upper classes to be considerate in their consumption and contribute funding toward these suits.

– Maia Nuñez
Photo: Flickr

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Underprivileged brides and Rainbow

Inside Rainbow: The Women’s Outfit for Underprivileged Brides
In 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the highest global poverty increase occurred in India. Experts estimate that the number of those in poverty has increased from 60 million to 134 million people in under a year. With the poverty rate in India growing due to the pandemic, weddings are a luxury that some women cannot afford. However, a group of female entrepreneurs is working to provide free bridal wear to women in need, giving underprivileged brides a chance at their dream weddings.

Starting a New Idea

Rainbow: The Women’s Outfit is a boutique that Sabitha Nasar runs. She is a female entrepreneur opening her first boutique in Pappinisseri town in Kerala’s Kannur district. She first began her donation project after noticing some women were struggling to afford clothes for their weddings. As weddings in India can last around three to four days, bridal wear can be quite expensive.

Women typically only wear bridal wear once, so many consider it an extravagant, luxury expense. However, Nasar feels that everyone deserves a chance at the perfect wedding. Thus, she opened her boutique for exclusively donated outfits during the COVID-19 pandemic, a devastating time for the underprivileged in India.

After coming up with the concept of donated bridal wear, Nasar decided to reach out to friends and family on social media, asking for their unused clothes. She created a YouTube video that has since gone viral, garnering over a million views. Since then, designers and the wealthy have donated their wedding clothes and jewelry to Nasar’s shop. Due to the success of her outreach, donations arrived from Mumbai, Delhi, Dubai and even the U.K. Women were eager to help out, contributing clothes, footwear, handbags, jewelry, bedsheets and makeup sets.

The Process and the Impact

After the video’s release, Nasar continued her mission with the help of more than 20 other women. The women use a WhatsApp group called Agora and organize drives to raise money and donations for underprivileged women. Since they began their work, the women have collected hundreds of dresses, helping underprivileged brides and promoting sustainable practices. Nasar ensures that each of the dresses is of the utmost quality.

She dry cleans the dresses and provides the brides with alteration facilities. Nasar does not believe in compromising the quality of the dresses. She wants to make every bride feel like a queen. If a regular customer is interested in one of the donated dresses, Nasar negotiates with the bride to donate the price of the dress to an underprivileged woman.

The effects of a sustainable and female-led business are productive in combating global poverty and befitting the impoverished. Donating and upcycling practices to promote ethical fashion is important as many large clothing companies do not pay employees a living wage and force them to work in unethical conditions. Additionally, supporting women entrepreneurs helps reduce poverty as high levels of female economic participation lead to fewer slowdowns in economic growth.

Looking Forward

Planning a wedding can be stressful for any bride. However, thanks to Rainbow: The Women’s Outfit, more underprivileged brides do not have to worry about the expenses of bridal wear. In addition to helping the brides to be, Nasar’s boutique promotes a progressive culture of female entrepreneurship and ethical fashion. Nasar’s mission helps to make the world a better place, one bride at a time.

– Carly Johnson
Photo: Pixabay

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The Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil

Sustainable Palm Oil
Farming palm oil is a major source of income for those living in equatorial regions across the globe and the industry can provide the short-term alleviation of poverty in poor regions by providing jobs. However, farming palm oil has a history of being unsustainable. Deforestation and biodiversity loss are both symptoms of palm oil production across the globe. While citizens in nations such as Indonesia are receiving necessary income, the environment around them is becoming increasingly polluted. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is an initiative working to improve the farming techniques’ environmental impact and is building a solution to a previously unsustainable industry.

About RSPO

RSPO targets and requires the legal commitment of companies to use palm oil through certifications of sustainability. It presents a solution to the traditional environmental destruction caused by farming palm oil. This means the group directly addresses issues such as the deforestation of rainforests due to unsustainable palm oil agriculture.

The group describes that it is possible to grow it without the razing of whole forests. It focuses on commitments to ensure this does not occur while maximizing the amount grown. It presents that there are sustainable options in the way farmers can grow the product. As a result, farming palm oil can address economic development in poverty-stricken nations without sacrificing the environment.

Palm Oil Production and Usage

Palm oil is a major ingredient in a plethora of foods and products ranging from Oreos to lipstick. Through its versatility, the crop is lucrative. Without the consideration of sustainability, this encourages the destruction of natural areas. Under a strictly short-term economic perspective, the complete deforestation of an area to grow one specific crop maximizes profits and minimizes the costs of products that use palm oil.

However, the growing of the crop does not require the destruction of the environment. Instead, current systems of harvesting palm crops ignore the possible benefits of sustainable agriculture. Considering the environment and its relationship to growing palm oil is a commitment that RSPO seeks to encourage.

Palm oil is often a major source of income for equatorial regions growing it. This means the crop contributes to the reduction of poverty in countries such as Indonesia where the majority of the palm crop grows. However, where economies are solely based around one crop, the incentivization of poor business practices is increased. This source of income comes at the expense of the environment. Often, the consequences outweigh the immediate reduction of poverty.

The Challenges for Low-Income Families

The clearing of tropical rainforest to grow palm oil directly pollutes and destroys environments that low-income families live in. For RSPO to certify sustainable palm oil, Producers of palm oil must not clear land through burning in order to receive certification for sustainable palm oil from RSPO, among a list of other requirements. The burning of forests is a common way to clear the land. The practice immediately pollutes the air through smoke and eliminates biodiversity. If wildlife survives, it comes in massively reduced populations.

The farming of palm oil without considering its environmental impact ruins whole ecosystems. In addition, asking poor communities who solely rely on its economic benefits to consider the impact of the environment ignores the demand from companies for cheaper sources of the crop. In theory, the commitment of larger companies that have more resources to address issues will shift the palm oil market in the future.

RSPO is among the certifications to address the environmental pollution created by unsustainable agriculture. In turn, the creation of clean palm oil “certificates” by industry leaders in RSPO is a major solution to industry malpractice and sustainability in the poverty-stricken nations that palm is grown.

– Harrison Vogt
Photo: Flickr

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Ending Bushmeat Consumption in Ghana

Ending Bushmeat Consumption in Ghana
People in Ghana eat more bushmeat than anywhere else in the world. This is especially true in rural areas. Organizations worldwide are trying to stop Ghanaians from eating so much bushmeat because it spreads disease among humans and endangers several animal species. Ghanian bushmeat includes baboon, aardvark, warthog and rats. However, bushmeat represents the freshest and most affordable meat available for Ghana’s rural citizens. The African Conservation Foundation may be a key part of stopping bushmeat hunting and bushmeat consumption in Ghana in the years ahead.

The Dangers of Bushmeat

Bushmeat is a term referring to the meat of wild animals, most typically applied to those that are hunted in Africa. The most common types of bushmeat are rat, antelope, warthog, bat and monkey, all of which carry diseases. Despite Ghana outlawing bushmeat, black markets still sell it because much of the population relies on bushmeat for protein.

Bushmeat can transmit diseases such as Ebola, Monkeypox, HIV and SARS, even holding the potential to cause outbreaks of diseases yet unknown to man. Diseases can transmit whenever a hunter comes into close contact with the live animal, cleans the animal or when people consume the animal. Additionally, live animals can be very dangerous to hunt. They can be large and hostile, like the warthogs, and overpower a hunter. Also, many conservation groups worry about the animal extinction that bushmeat hunting causes. According to a report the Royal Society published, overhunting is currently threatening 301 land mammals. Because bushmeat hunting occurs yearly, and excessively, more species become extinct each year.

Rural and Urban Consumption

In 2021, over 3.57 million Ghanaians live below the poverty line, subsisting on less than $1.90 a day. Because bushmeat is much cheaper than chicken or beef, it is the only protein option for many. Bushmeat is also often the freshest meat in the country, leading people to believe that bushmeat is the best option available. During the “dry” seasons, farmers are unable to provide enough protein to their citizens. Rural citizens see bushmeat as an affordable option as opposed to the safer but more expensive farmed protein. The business is so lucrative that Ghanaian hunters earn up to 3.5 times the government minimum wage.

Bushmeat is most common in rural communities rather than urban. This is because bushmeat is much cheaper than safer meats in rural communities. According to an NCBI report, bushmeat consumption worldwide occurs most frequently in villages with poor transportation links and few alternative protein options. Because the illegality of bushmeat limits its hunting to rural areas, the markets for bushmeat in suburban areas are more expensive. There must be money to pay the middle-man to transport the meat, causing the suburban prices to be more expensive than the rural areas. Still, urban markets find buyers in wholesalers, market traders, restaurants and individual consumers.

The African Conservation Foundation

The African Conservation Foundation (AWF) is an international, non-governmental organization that prioritizes wildlife and their habitats in Africa. Its Director of Global Leadership, Edwin Tambara, recently stated that “AWF is working to engage elected officials in Washington, D.C., and in countries around the world to inform policies ensuring that wildlife conservation and stopping the illegal wildlife trade is prioritized in the wake COVID-19.”

There are a number of ways AWF seeks to accomplish this. Firstly, the organization influenced the Ghanaian government’s decision to make the bushmeat market illegal. Now, AWF is attempting to use education to stop the markets. Most importantly, AWF provides funding as an incentive to stop wildlife hunting and counteract the majority of Ghanaians who consume bushmeat because of its affordability.

Looking Ahead

Ghana leads the world in bushmeat consumption, but looks now to other alternatives because of its uncleanliness and endangering of species. The African Conservation Foundation is one organization contributing to ending bushmeat consumption in Ghana. Thanks to its incentives, policies and education, the way forward looks hopeful.

– Sydney Littlejohn
Photo: Flickr

Poverty and International Adoption in Ethiopia

Poverty and International Adoption in Ethiopia: 8 Questions Answered
Due to decades of poverty and other factors, Ethiopia has one of the largest orphan populations in the world. In the past decade, Ethiopia has become one of the most common countries from which U.S. citizens can adopt children. However, Ethiopia’s ban on international adoption in 2018 has affected thousands of Ethiopian children living in poverty. International adoption in Ethiopia is an extremely complex process. Netsanet Waal, an international adoptee, explained to The Borgen Project that after she lost both her parents to AIDS, she and her little sister Mekdelawit lived in an orphanage in Ethiopia. Their adoptive parents, Rhonda and Tracy Waal, adopted Netsanet and Mekdelawit in 2007. Here are eight questions and answers about international adoption.

8 Questions and Answers About International Adoption

  1. How did international adoption become so common in the United States? As Europe’s refugees fled to the United States after World War II due to post-war developments, the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 helped introduce international adoption and migration into Western culture. During the 1950s and 1960s, the number of international adoptions surged, notably among families compelled to adopt for religious reasons. Media coverage of global crises in impoverished countries increased in the 1980s. As a result, adoption became a more promoted practice in American culture and society.
  2. What are the benefits of international adoption? Every child deserves to have a family and international adoption provides a way for children to feel loved, safe and supported. When middle-class and upper-class families adopt children from impoverished countries, a child’s quality of life typically increases. Even more, international adoption improves foreign relations by facilitating dialogue between countries. International adoption also has a meaningful impact on those who come in contact with adoptees. In small towns with little diversity, adoptees can reshape many U.S. citizens’ perspectives on different cultures. 
  3. What are the negatives of international adoption? The cost of international adoption is extremely high. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, international adoption can cost between $20,000 and $50,000. The high price of international adoption makes it inaccessible to many families, suggesting that many capable families cannot adopt for financial reasons. Additionally, as immigrants, children adopted from other countries often enter communities that do not resemble their own. Therefore, adoptees can struggle with discovering their identity and personhood until later on in their lives, if they ever do. In an interview with The Borgen Project, Waal spoke about how her upbringing in the small rural town of Mount Vernon, Ohio affected the way she perceived herself as a black woman. Waal explained that she did not have any Ethiopian influences around her, and she struggled to connect with the culture of her home country because she grew up in a predominantly white town.
  4. How did Ethiopia become a country known for orphan adoption? Ethiopia’s food shortage from 1983-85 caused an estimated 1 million deaths and forced millions more into extreme poverty. The AIDS epidemic devastated Ethiopia as well. AIDS started spreading in Ethiopia in 1984; about 12% of women and 8% of men in Ethiopia were HIV positive by 2000. Children and youth also became more likely to contract HIV during the early 2000s through mother-to-child transmission. When BBC reporter Michael Buerk traveled with World Vision in 1984 and reported on famine and poverty in Ethiopia, it inspired Americans to aid the country. Waal explained how her adoptive parents had witnessed the famine on television as children. The parents felt that God was calling them to adopt later in 2007. At the time, Ethiopia was the fourth poorest country in the world. The Waal family wished to help by adopting two of the 4.9 million orphans in Africa at the time, and they were not the only family considering such a decision.
  5. How does poverty affect Ethiopian children today? Ethiopia had a 24% poverty rate in 2016, which means that thousands of kids grow up without access to education and resources. Less than 20% of children living in poverty can finish elementary school, while less than 25% have received basic vaccinations.
  6. Why did the Ethiopian government ban international adoption recently? The Ethiopian government banned international adoption in Ethiopia in 2018. Ethiopian officials pursued this course of action as they believed it would protect orphans; officials were worried about the psychological problems and physical abuse that adoptees could suffer. When asked about the benefits of international adoption, orphanage administrator Abebayehu Fikad explained, “Even if we are poor, it’s better to be with our society,” in an interview with NPR.
  7. How did the ban of international adoption in Ethiopia affect orphaned children? Ethiopia continues to face an orphan crisis. Today, 800,000 of Ethiopia’s 4.5 million orphans have lost their parents to AIDs, and there are specific orphanages aiding children in such situations. Many of the children will likely live in orphanages until they age out of the system.
  8. Who is aiding Ethiopian orphans? NGOs including Save The Children are advocating for Ethiopian orphans and children. Save the Children has touched millions of lives through its work on the ground and its child sponsorship program. Save The Children has also assisted more than 1 million parents in helping their children and provided protection for more than 800,00 children experiencing crises. In addition, Save the Children has established programs to enhance education, literacy and career-building skills for unprivileged children.

Looking Ahead

Although international adoption in Ethiopia does have negative aspects, millions of children in Ethiopia do not have basic access to family, shelter or food. Although the international public cannot adopt in Ethiopia, individuals can still support Ethiopian children living in poverty by donating to the Save the Children cause.

– Abby Adu
Photo: Flickr

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The IRC Helps Relocate Afghan Refugees

Relocate Afghan Refugees
The Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal has left hundreds of thousands of Afghans either displaced or seeking refuge. The United Nations has estimated that up to 500,000 Afghans will flee Afghanistan by the end of 2021. As a result, as the Taliban’s power continues to grow, countries across the globe have opened their doors to help relocate Afghan refugees. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one global organization that is taking a lead in this relocation work. The IRC helps relocate Afghan refugees in Mexico, Uganda and Pakistan.

About the International Rescue Committee

Founded in 1933, the IRC responds to catastrophes and humanitarian crises across the globe. Since its inception, the IRC assists those who have had to relocate by providing them with lifesaving care and long-term stability. To date, the IRC operates in over 40 counties and 22 U.S. cities offering a range of support to people who have been uprooted and are struggling.

How the IRC Helps Relocate Afghan Refugees

For the past 30 years, the IRC has worked to provide aid to Afghanistan and continues to amid the ongoing crisis. On August 31, 2021, the IRC announced that the Mexican government will welcome 175 refugees arriving in Mexico City. Throughout its history and to date, Mexico has been a safe haven for those seeking refuge. Upon their arrival, the IRC provides urgent medical care, welcome kits, COVID-19 PPE and Psychological First Aid (PFA) to those who need it. The IRC has also announced plans to provide refugees in Mexico with cash cards to communicate with families still in Afghanistan.

Uganda is a second country that works with the IRC. Since 1998, Uganda and the IRC have supported over 1.5 million refugees and are currently working with the United States and United Kingdom embassies to provide asylum for Afghan refugees. Similar to Mexico’s approach, upon arriving in Uganda, refugees receive housing, medical assistance, COVID-19 PPE, sanitary products and temporary immigration cards. IRC staff onsite in Uganda have also provided refugees with a 24/7 medical clinic along with individual and group psychosocial services.

The IRC has also been working with Pakistan since 1980 and the partnership has helped more than 3 million Afghan refugees relocate. Despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has depleted much of Pakistan’s resources and ravaged its economy, Pakistani officials have assured temporary asylum for new refugees coming from Afghanistan. The IRC helps Afghan relocate refugees arriving in Pakistan by supporting them through cash assistance, health care, job training and “child-friendly spaces” where children can play and attend school in a safe environment. 

Types of Support the IRC Receives

  • Donations. The IRC website offers multiple avenues for people to donate. The Rescue Gifts page includes hundreds of gifts ranging from baby kits and survival kits to a year of school for two girls. People can also make a one-time or monthly donation that will go towards providing refugees with medical care and other emergency assistance. The IRC spends 87% of all donations on programming.
  • Volunteers. Volunteers help coordinate community outreach in various areas by hosting donation drives or working internships to get hands-on experience with refugee resettlement. They also help refugees adjust when they make it to the U.S. by hosting refugees in their homes with IRC’s partner Airbnb.
  • Community Support. Individuals can call their representatives and mobilize community members to contact their representatives. In addition, you can work alongside the IRC’s Policy and Advocacy team in the fight for policies and legislation. Text RESCUE to 40649 to start taking action. 

A Promising Future

The road ahead will be tough for Afghanistan and for the Afghan refugees. Nevertheless, the IRC’s support will change the course of the refugee crisis one donation at a time. 

– Sal Huizar
Photo: Flickr

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The World Bank Approves Aid for Lebanon

Aid for Lebanon
At the beginning of the year, in January 2021, the World Bank approved and accepted the United States’ $249 million project proposal to bring aid into Lebanon. The social and economic situations in Lebanon over the past several months and years have become desperately dire, and the United States, the World Bank and its parent organization, the United Nations, are all seeking to meet the needs of the many suffering Lebanese people.

The Situation in Lebanon

Lebanon has been facing a prolonged financial crisis as well as economic upheaval, which, in 2020, resulted in severe inflation of the country’s currency, the Lebanese Pound (LBP), and led to a 19.2% drop in the GDP. As of September 2021, the U.N. reported that the multidimensional poverty rate in Lebanon has risen to 82%, with 32% of the Lebanese population living in extreme multidimensional poverty.

The Lebanese people are lacking in basic commodities and healthcare services, which has also exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on Lebanon. Unable to reach treatment facilities or even get diagnoses, the Lebanese people have suffered greatly from the pandemic. The pandemic’s stifling effect on businesses in Lebanon has also further compounded the financial struggles that Lebanon is already facing.

The Emergency Crisis and COVID-19 Response Social Safety Net Project (ESSN)

The Emergency Crisis and COVID-19 Response Social Safety Net Project (ESSN) began official operations in February 2021, providing funds and services to those struggling under the combined crises of Lebanon’s dismal financial state, complicated geopolitical relations and poor COVID-19 response infrastructure. The ESSN will attempt to work with and bolster existing active programs within Lebanon; the goal is to complement other projects without collateral damage to the already fragile internal systems.

The ESSN has been working closely with social programs that are already established, and that both the Lebanese Social Development Centers of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education run. Understanding the importance of using every available resource, the ESSN has also been working closely with other third-party projects, most notably Lebanon’s National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP), which also runs through the U.N. and the World Bank to identify problem areas within the country and help codify response programs.

How the ESSN is Providing Aid for Lebanon

To try to get Lebanon back on its feet, there are two main fronts on which the ESSN is attempting to help revitalize economic growth and stem the tide of poverty. The first is basic aid packages in the form of cash deposits for families, individuals, and those with unfortunate circumstances. These are to provide immediate relief and bring some sense of stability to the people stranded in poverty. In order to accomplish this, the ESSN had been providing financial and technical support in order to greatly increase the capabilities and operations of the NPTP. Using the infrastructure already put in place through the NPTP, both projects hope to be able to proliferate aid quickly, effectively and fairly.

The second front that the ESSN is attempting to fight poverty on is that of human capital, specifically the promise of the young people of Lebanon. Recognizing that people are the most valuable resource, the ESSN’s work with the Lebanese Ministry of Education has begun to keep children in schools. Education is the key to opportunity, and ESSN is working to subsidize both the public school systems in Lebanon and also the schooling costs for individual students. By ensuring the quality of education and by granting students the socioeconomic stability to be able to continue attending school, the ESSN is attempting to assist Lebanon with investing in its future.

Becoming fully approved and operational in 2021, the ESSN will receive funding, and it will remain running for three years as it provides aid for Lebanon. Reports as recently as July 2021 have positive responses, and already, a large amount of aid has undergone disbursement to individuals, families and students alike. The ESSN has plans to continue to show support by investing in Lebanon and its people, a hearty show of humanity.

– John J. Lee
Photo: Flickr

IMF Loan Could Resolve the Zambian Debt Crisis

IMF Loan Could Lead Zambia Out Of Debt Crisis
Landlocked Zambia, a country with a population of more than 18 million people, is fighting to stay afloat as it struggles to repay about $13 billion in external debts. Up to a quarter of the Zambian debt crisis has links to China or Chinese entities, complicating the nation’s ability to access any IMF relief. The classified nature of deals with the People’s Republic of China can limit international organizations from aiding nations that are struggling.

Understanding the Situation

Combating a drop in agricultural output, falling copper prices and drought, the Zambian economy was weakening even prior to the pandemic. After the emergence of COVID-19, gains from tourism fell, and the nation had to increasingly depend on its copper reserves to sustain its economy. The export of copper accounts for more than 70% of Zambia’s “export earnings,” meaning that the nation is highly vulnerable to even the smallest changes in copper value.

Leaders indicated that the economic turmoil that the Zambian debt crisis caused was too much to handle. Zambia was the first African nation to default on its loans during the pandemic in November 2020. In addition, Zambia has one of the world’s highest poverty rates. About 58% of the population lives below the poverty line; in sub-Saharan Africa overall, 41% live below the poverty line. The population is also growing at 2.8% per year, which will put a larger strain on the country’s limited resources and weakened infrastructure over time.

Since Zambia is landlocked, the nation serves as a trucking center and transportation hub in Southern Africa, meaning that the spread of COVID-19 has been more devastating as well. As of October 10, 2021, Zambia has had more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases, more than double of some neighboring nations. Coupled with preexisting poverty, much of the Zambian population faces daily worries about food security.

Upcoming Solution

Prior to the 2021 Zambian elections, people knew former President Edgar Lungu’s administration for its strained relations with the IMF. General consensus held that it was unlikely that there would be a way out of the Zambian debt crisis. The government had also recently purchased a copper mine using $1.5 billion, which could complicate the IMF’s analysis on Zambia’s liabilities and whether they were eligible for funds.

However, the appointment of Zambia’s newest finance minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, has the potential to change the future of the Zambian debt crisis. Musokotwane was previously the Zambian finance minister from 2008-2011 under Rupiah Banda and was responsible for the implementation of the last IMF program. Under his leadership, the economy grew by about 7.6%. Interest rates fell from over 45% to 18%. Musokotwane has also served as an “alternate Governor at the IMF, African Development Bank, and World Bank,” denoting his expertise and positive reputation in the field of economics. With his role, Musokotwane is more likely to secure access to IMF funds and rework the Zambian budget, which may eliminate the nation’s need to depend on foreign loans in the first place.

– Shruti Patankar
Photo: Unsplash

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Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan


On Sept. 25, artists, world leaders and celebrities came together for Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour concert event to bring the world together to end poverty. Participants showed support for Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan for the World. That plan has five goals: ending the hunger crisis, creating equity for all, ending COVID-19, protecting the earth and resuming learning for everyone.

What is Global Citizen?

Global Citizen is an organization with the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. It plans to do this with the help of 100 million “Global Citizens,” who join the movement. On the Global Citizen platform, engaged citizens can learn about and take action against the systemic causes of extreme poverty. Not only that, but those who participate in the fight against poverty can earn rewards for their efforts including attending music performances and sporting events.

Recovery Plan for the World’s Five Goals

Here are Global Citizen’s plans for achieving each of the Recovery Plan of the World goals:

  • Ending the hunger crisis – In order to end the hunger crisis, Global Citizen suggests funding school meal programs to ensure every child has food. It also urges the support of small farmers that the pandemic negatively impacted. Finally, it proposes to commit to food and nutrition programs.
  • Equity for all – The pandemic has most affected the poor, people of color and women. Global Citizen believes that supporting human rights efforts and creating a people-focused justice system will bolster equity. 
  • Ending COVID-19 – Global Citizen believes that the world will not eradicate COVID-19 until everyone across the world has access to vaccines, testing and treatment. The organization has proposed that wealthy countries donate extra vaccines to poorer countries. In addition, it has advocated for increased funding for ACT-A and COVAX.
  • Protecting the planet – Global Citizen recommends supporting carbon neutrality for people living in communities suffering from extreme poverty.  Moreover, it advocates greater climate financing to reduce carbon emissions.
  • Resuming learning everywhere – Globally, COVID-19 has affected around 1.5 billion children; one-third of those children have been unable to access remote learning. For that reason, Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan for the World urges providing technology resources for access and increasing funding for education.

Global Citizen Live

The 24-hour concert event occurred on six of the seven continents, excluding Antarctica. The cities with live performances and celebrity appearances included Paris, Rio De Janeiro, Sydney, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Lagos and Seoul. More than 60 artists performed including Billie Eilish, Green Day, 5 Seconds of Summer, Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, the Black Eyed Peas, Alessia Cara and Lizzo. Elton John kicked off the event by performing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took to the stage in New York City’s Central Park to say that vaccines against COVID-19 should be treated as a basic human right.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), pre-recorded a message announcing that the United State was donating $295 million “to stave off famine and extreme hunger, confront gender-based violence and address the urgent humanitarian needs the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving in its wake.” French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would double its contribution of COVID-19 vaccines to impoverished countries from 60 million to 120 million shots.

Impact

Global Citizen Live is one of the largest-ever worldwide charity events, and yet, the goal was not to raise money. Unlike many similar events, the goal was to get the attention of world leaders and show that people support direct action for the Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan for the World issues. In fact, the concert was completely free. For instance, the 60,000 people in attendance at Central Park had to earn their audience spots by doing things such as contacting their members of Congress, signing petitions and sending tweets.

Global Citizen Live 2021 brought millions of people across the world together with one purpose: grabbing the attention of world leaders. By succeeding with that goal, it raised money and secured pledges for vaccine distribution. Global Citizen Live 2021 successfully launched Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan for the World.

– Trystin Baker
Photo: Flickr

5 Facts About Poverty in Israel

About Poverty in Israel
A steadfast ally of the United States and one of the most influential countries in the Middle East, Israel has played a key role in global politics and technology. For millennia, Jewish people experienced persecution as a minority across Europe, with others often using them as convenient scapegoats in times of crisis. This culminated in the Holocaust, a genocidal campaign that Nazi Germany waged to exterminate the Jewish population. Millions died and the collective suffering forced upon the Jewish people led to calls for a Jewish state in the Middle East. Several facts about poverty in Israel illustrate the progress the nation has made over the years, despite its history of conflict and strife.

Dividing the Palestinian Territory

The British answered these calls when it divided the Palestinian territory in two: one half for the Jewish population and the other for Palestinians. Israel began as a majority Jewish and democratic state. Once again, however, the Jewish population faced a lack of acceptance by their neighbors. Arab countries attacked Israel on numerous occasions, seeking to expel them from the region. All the while, a growing conflict simmered between the Israelis and Palestinians that would come to be a defining issue in international relations for decades to come.

More recently, Israel has successfully emerged as a highly developed country, equipped with world-beating technology industry. Acceptance has risen among its Arab neighbors through the signing of the Abraham Accords, which featured the normalization of relations between Israel and several Gulf states.

Still, the conflict with the Palestinians is ongoing with no clear end in sight, and Israel has one of the highest rates of poverty for an OECD country. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has now added further uncertainty to an already tenuous situation. Uncertain times lie ahead.

5 Facts About Poverty in Israel

  1. Poverty is rising. OECD studies indicate that Israel has the highest poverty rate of all developed countries. In 2013, roughly 21% of the population lived below the poverty line. This was slightly higher than Mexico, which had a poverty rate of 20%. Preliminary estimates also show the situation getting worse, not better. In 1995, the same figure was only 14%. For the same period in the United States, poverty remained stagnant, again suggesting less encouraging trends for Israel than in other developed countries. Still, the overall rate of extreme poverty — $1.90 a day or less — remains low, just 0.2% in 2016. This is an increase from 0% in 1979, albeit small.
  2. Life expectancy is high in Israel. Despite its ongoing struggle to alleviate poverty, Israel has one of the highest standards of living on Earth. From a low of 71 years in 1969, Israel has made dramatic strides to improve life expectancies for both men and women. In 2019, the Israeli life expectancy of 83 years was much higher than the 79 years in the United States, even approaching the Japanese average of 84 years, the highest rate in the world.
  3. Israel is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Measured in GDP (PPP) per capita, Israel in 2020 was almost four times better off than the typical emerging economy and more than two times as prosperous as China, the mainstay of the developing world.
  4. Israeli economic growth is unusually fast for a developed country. In the last two decades of the 20th century, Israeli economic growth was record-beating, peaking at 10% in 1995 — a rate only exceeded by large developing nations like China. In the 2000s, Israeli growth has slowed but still remains faster than many of its counterparts. Then, in 2019, shortly before COVID-19 sent the global economy spiraling into recession, the Israeli economy expanded by 3.4%, faster than the United States, Japan and Germany.
  5. The disposable income gap — the amount of money citizens retain after taxes — is widening. Along with growing poverty, the last cloud in the sky is income inequality. Since 1986, the Israeli Gini coefficient for disposable income has increased, leading to a higher rate of inequality than the United States, Germany, Britain and France.

Looking Ahead

The country’s weaknesses are twofold: growing poverty and income inequality. Both challenges exacerbate one another and show no signs of abating. However, unlike many nations, Israel has a strong foundation to build from. Israel possesses some of the highest standards of living and enjoys steady economic growth. Additionally, the country is receiving help from other avenues too. NGOs have cropped up across the country with dedicated missions of poverty reduction. One of the largest is Pitchon Lev, founded in 1998 and active in 50 individual municipalities within Israel. For more than two decades, the organization has worked directly with the poor, providing food and key necessities to 250,000 people a year. Going forward, the rise of these organizations can help turn the tide and usher in a brighter period for Israel.

– Zachary Lee
Photo: Flickr