Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Child Labor in The Dominican Republic

Child Labor in the Democratic Republic
The Borgen Project spoke to Rafael Olivares, someone who had witnessed how child rights can overpower child labor in The Dominican Republic. He was born in The Dominican Republic and traveled back and forth between The Dominican Republic and the United States throughout his early life. Rafael Olivares lived in The Dominican Republic for six years from the ages of 11 to 16-years-old. He endured impressionable experiences while living in the country, witnessing intense child labor. He lived in Santiago, fully known as Santiago De Los Caballeros, for five years. This city is located in the northern region of the country. He has also lived in Puerto Plata, fully known as San Felipe de Puerto Plata, for one year. It is a port and city also located in the northern
region of the country.

As a high school student, while living in The Dominican Republic, Rafael Olivares noticed that “young children were working street corners and would sell water bottles and would clean windshields of different cars to get some spare change.” He believes the government in The Dominican Republic should support education efforts to a greater extent, especially considering The Dominican Republic’s low rating in education in Latin America. Rafael Olivares noted that during his time as a student, he never heard of anyone discussing mental health or offering it to youth. Rafael’s family left an impact on him. This was due to his family migrating to the United States in the 1980s in search of better work opportunities to provide for the family.

The Rights of Dominican Children

All children have their rights. However, unfortunately, their rights frequently depend on the kind of economic background they come from. Children from affluent families often have more rights than children with lower-status families because of their entitlement. Meanwhile, children from less wealthy families may have a harder time navigating life. Over 40% of the Dominican population lives below the poverty line. Children from single-mother households or with a family of immigrants become susceptible to child labor as a means of providing for their families.

There is a serious problem with child labor in The Dominican Republic since one out of 10 children has to work. Without strict policies and protections in place, children may become trafficking victims, having to work in exploitative scenarios. The rise of tourism in the country has deepened the issue. Most families support their children leaving school to work full-time so that they can better handle the finances.

Child Labor Facts

The Dominican Republic wants to improve its child labor laws. It has made improvements by hiring more labor inspectors in 2019, creating an increase of 57%.

Child labor in The Dominican Republic proves to be dangerous because of the hazardous working conditions in agriculture and human trafficking. The ages of the children range from 10 to 14-years-old. About 28% of child laborers in The Dominican Republic work in the agricultural field, which involves sugarcane production and processing, and the production of coffee, cocoa, rice, tomatoes, bananas, beans, corn, garlic, onions and potatoes. The children fish as well.

About 98% of the children attend school without having to work, whereas 2% of Dominican children attend both school and work. The Dominican government implemented the extended school day program. This included nearly 80% of schoolchildren in 2019. All children attend school until the age of 18 through the free, public education system, including children who are undocumented.

The DREAM Project

The DREAM project is a nonprofit located in both The Dominican Republic and the United States. Michel Zaleski gained inspiration for the program in 1995 when he witnessed classrooms in the Dominican Republic with no hydro, running water or libraries, and limited teachers. Finally, in 2002, the DREAM project came into existence. Michel Zaleski sent over college students from the United States to help facilitate teaching at two public schools in Puerto Plata. Michel secured funding to build facilities for the DREAM project. These facilities included classrooms, libraries and bathrooms. The DREAM project takes pride in opportunity and sustainability, two of their many core values. Junot Diaz, an award-winning author, and singer Leslie Grace support the organization’s efforts. Both serve as honorary chairpersons.

The DREAM Project: Programs

The DREAM project offers a variety of programs to improve literacy among children, along with the Montessori Academy and programs to promote youth leadership. It has also implemented the Bachata Academy, community programs and global connection groups. The DREAM project website states that “96 percent of third-graders in the Dominican Republic read below grade level.” The DREAM project aims to promote quality education to students of all ages and improve reading scores while aiding youth in advancing into higher education. Its reading and library program intends for young children to actively read and write creatively as this could help them build relationships among others in the community. Overall, the DREAM project’s literacy programs help prevent child labor from occurring by giving youth a safe space to engage in fulfilling life-changing experiences.

Ministry of Labor

The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Labor sends children that it finds in unsafe working conditions to the National Council for Children and Adolescents. Other organizations in The Dominican Republic helping to end child labor include the Office of the Attorney General and the National Police’s Trafficking in Persons Unit. Hopefully, the government will create stricter laws for a fair and just environment for children.

– Amanda Ortiz
Photo: Flickr

 

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Celebrity Solutions to Period Poverty

Celebrity Solutions to Period PovertyCombinations of cultural stigmas and taboos, lack of access to menstrual products and inadequate sanitation facilities all contribute to period poverty. UNICEF highlights that 2.3 billion people across the world still do not have access to basic sanitation services. Each day, 800 million women and girls menstruate yet these barriers hinder them from properly managing their menstruation. Celebrity solutions to period poverty hope to address this global issue.

Period Poverty

The umbrella term of period poverty is used to describe “the inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and educations, including but not limited to sanitary products, washing facilities and waste management.” Oftentimes, women and young girls in countries that prominently experience this form of poverty are ostracized from activities such as socializing or eating particular foods. Furthermore, the cultural shame that menstruators carry with them hinders them from going to school and work. Generally, this results in girls being uneducated, further exacerbating the cycle of poverty. As the issue of period poverty increases, celebrity solutions to period poverty help raise awareness and look toward ways to reduce period poverty.

Celebrities Fighting Period Poverty

  1. Hilary Duff. In 2019, actress Hilary Duff partnered with Naturalena Brands and launched Veeda, a 100% natural period product line. Duff made it her mission to provide affordable and quality menstrual products for women and girls around the world. She spoke about period poverty in an interview with the Morning Show, “It is horrifying that something like your period is holding girls back from being able to go to school for a week every single month because they don’t have access to proper supplies.” Veeda works closely with the Naturalena Foundation which had donated more than three million feminine hygiene products to more than 10 countries.
  2. Gina Rodriguez. Actress Gina Rodriguez wrote an article for Teen Vogue in August 2018 in which she reflected on how different her life would have been if she had personally been impacted by period poverty. After learning about how many girls could not go to school because of their menstrual cycles, Rodriguez partnered with Always for the #EndPeriodPoverty campaign. The campaign aims to ensure that women and girls always feel supported so that their periods do not hold them back from living up to their fullest potential. Though the campaign addresses period poverty in the United States, it serves to raise awareness about the global issue of period poverty so that more people can become involved to take action globally.
  3. Amika George. In 2018, British activist Amika George was nominated for Teen Vogue’s “21 under 21” list by actor Emma Watson for her work toward achieving menstrual equality and ending period poverty. At the age of 17, after realizing that girls in the U.K. were not attending school because they were unable to afford period products to manage their menstruation, George started the campaign Free Periods to end period poverty. She also started a petition that received more than 200,000 signatures. This created awareness of the issue and resulted in a period poverty protest of 2,000 people outside the residence of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.

These celebrity solutions to period poverty help create awareness and address a global issue that prevents girls and women around the world from reaching their full potential.

– Meghana Nagendra
Photo: Flickr

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Susan Rice’s Approach to Foreign Aid

Susan Rice's Approach to Foreign Aid
Susan Rice’s approach to foreign aid has formed by her listening to her colleagues’ advice. Her approach is to negotiate and implement policies to help textile workers, small farmers and other people in need.

Susan Rice’s Background

According to her latest 2019 book, “Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For,” Susan Rice grew up in Washington, D.C. Her first job in 1979 at age 14 was as a Democratic page in the U.S. House of Representatives. She graduated high school and took home many awards from the National Cathedral School NCS in D.C. After this, she was a fellow at the Brookings Institute and an undergraduate at Stanford University.

She studied at Oxford in the U.K., where she earned her M.Phil. (masters) degree in international relations. Afterward, she went on to earn her Ph.D. During that time, her thesis “The Commonwealth Initiative in Zimbabwe, 1979–1980: Implications for International Peacekeeping” won the 1991 Chatham House–British International Studies Association Award for the most distinguished doctoral dissertation in international relations in The U.K. She went on to be the youngest black woman to serve in a presidential administration.

Susan Rice’s approach to foreign aid has involved her putting her colleague’s advice into practice. When she first started as assistant secretary of state for African affairs, her colleague Ambassador Prudence’s advice was to pay attention to policy outcomes, not the bureaucracy.

African Growth Opportunity Act and Other Programs

During her years in the Clinton Administration, Susan Rice worked hard toward the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), which passed Congress in 2000. In 2015, Congress updated and extended the program through 2025. The AGOA requires countries to remove obstacles to U.S. trade, implement poverty reduction procedures, fight corruption and bolster human rights.

Poverty is reducing among women through the creation of jobs and through new businesses that women own. The African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP), which supports women who own businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, came to be because of the AGOA.

The Department of State also created an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). This program sponsors a small group of African women business owners to come to the U.S. for a three-week intensive networking event to meet with leaders in bipartisan policy, industry and nonprofits. The support these women entrepreneurs receive helps create jobs and influence society. It lifts their communities out of poverty one job at a time.

Work as the US Ambassador to the United Nations

Susan Rice’s approach to foreign aid widened when the Obama Administration made her the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP), which began with the George W. Bush Administration, continued in the Obama Administration.

It had the intent of lowering or eliminating tariffs on imports and exports of participating countries, thus making it more affordable for them to produce, import and export. The affordability attracts businessmen and women and lifts people out of poverty by creating jobs in both the import and export country. This symbiotic relationship helps lift people out of poverty by the creation of these jobs. In 2014, according to Susan Rice’s speech, one-third of TPP participants were from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia all benefit from TPP.

How TTP and AGOA Impact People

Susan Rice’s approach to foreign aid is to negotiate and implement policies like TTP and the AGOA. According to The World Bank, TTP will increase the wages of poor under-skilled textile workers in Vietnam by over 14% by 2030. African countries could also benefit from TTP and especially African women.

According to The World Bank, women make up most of the small farmers in Africa. These women carry goods across borders where they sometimes meet with opposition in documents, regulatory requirements and tariffs.

As Brookings reported, Africa is benefiting from the AGOA. In 2014, African countries exported nearly $1 billion worth of textiles to the U.S. creating jobs for poor under-skilled workers, especially women.

– Kathleen Shepherd-Segura
Photo: Flickr

The INTERSOS Response to COVID-19 in Italy

INTERSOS Response to COVID-19INTERSOS is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that responds to humanitarian emergencies in Italy and 20 other countries around the world. The organization works on the frontlines of disaster zones, providing basic needs such as medical care, clean water, shelter and food.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been especially active in Italy by providing relief to those in need. The INTERSOS response to COVID-19 in Italy focuses on Rome and the surrounding region, particularly on homeless people and other vulnerable groups.

Homelessness During the Pandemic

There are around 8,000 homeless people in Rome and about 3,000 of them do not have a means of shelter. According to the coordinator for homeless outreach at the Catholic charity, Sant’Egidio, shelters have reduced occupancy due to COVID-19 restrictions. This has been particularly challenging during the winter months when temperatures can drop below zero degrees. From November 2020 to January 2021, 12 people died from the cold on Rome’s streets.

Normally, the subway stations in Rome close at night, but, 40,000 people signed a petition created by the community group, Nonna Roma, to leave the metro open. This would give people a safe place to sleep at night. Charities and organizations such as Nonna Roma and Sant’Egidio are working to provide food and shelter to the increasing number of people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. These organizations fear that the number of vulnerable people will rise as the expiration dates of protective tenant policies, such as a ban on evictions, looms.

The INTERSOS Response

In March 2020, INTERSOS recognized the lack of healthcare and basic necessities for the homeless in Rome. The organization quickly oriented its work to provide COVID-19 specific resources. This includes education about the virus, information about COVID-19 precautions and general healthcare assistance. It continued to do so since the second wave of infections in October 2020. The INTERSOS response to COVID-19 addresses accessibility, with mobile healthcare teams visiting vulnerable populations directly at informal housing settlements throughout Rome. These mobile teams provide as much assistance as possible, on-site. If the teams do not have the resources themselves, the teams direct people to relevant social or healthcare programs in the city.

INTERSOS Mobile Team

A UNICEF report from April 2020 explains a typical day for the INTERSOS mobile healthcare team. The day UNICEF reports on, the team visits an informal settlement of 500 residents on the outskirts of Rome. The living conditions are cramped as the structure was not intended for the purpose of housing families. These conditions put people at high risk of contracting COVID-19. The INTERSOS team conducts health screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, gives lessons on hygiene and speaks with individuals and families about specific concerns.

In a typical week, INTERSOS visits three settlements in Rome and checks in on people living in Rome’s train stations. INTERSOS is vital in providing healthcare and basic necessities to those who need it most. With the assistance and dedication of INTERSOS, Italy’s most vulnerable are getting the care and resources they need to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

– Caitlin Harjes
Photo: Flickr

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Tech Platforms Increasing Accessibility in India

accessibility in IndiaAs of 2020, 50% of people in India had access to the internet, a figure growing most quickly in rural regions. In 2019, there were 264 million internet users in rural India compared to the 310 million internet users in urban India. The rapid growth of internet adoption outside of Indian cities can be accredited in part to the initiatives of the Digital India campaign, including efforts to integrate the country’s cloud infrastructure, promote open data platforms, fill connectivity gaps and offer affordable data plans. Overall, internet penetration rates across the country have more than doubled over the last five years. Through the use of technology and the internet, platforms have been created to increase resource, service and opportunity accessibility in India.

The Digital Revolution Increases Accessibility

In a country where 80% of the impoverished live in rural areas, widespread internet availability is vital. More than just a source of entertainment, the internet increases accessibility of products and services that otherwise might not be affordable or available. Recognizing the potential for digital technologies to cut across geographic and economic barriers, numerous private and public organizations have developed platforms designed to increase accessibility in India. Whether connecting buyers to faraway sellers or simply helping individuals locate public toilets, these innovative tech platforms champion access and promote inclusion in India.

Google Toilet Locator

In 2012, more Indian households had a cellphone than a toilet. A lack of access to toilets leads to rampant open defecation with consequences ranging from water pollution to the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera. In a country where technology has grown faster than public services, the government turned to tech for assistance in its campaign to eradicate open defecation and improve waste management. In December 2016, India’s Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) partnered with Google to introduce a Google Maps toilet finder tool as part of the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission. As the government works to construct millions of toilets around the country, the Google Toilet Locator helps Indians to more easily find them. The app even allows users to leave ratings and reviews for public restrooms.

Tractors-as-a-Service

In September 2018, Aeris Communications partnered with Hello Tractor to launch “Tractors-as-a-Service” in India, The service provides on-demand tractor rentals to Indian farmers. In India, agriculture is an essential source of export earnings, employment and food. Tractors play a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity but less than 30% of farmers utilize such expensive, high-capacity equipment. Hello Tractor’s software, which can be accessed through mobile and web applications, offers a “pay-as-you-use” model based on time in the field and area covered. The app enables small farmers to reap the benefits of commercial model tractors at lower costs while increasing the profits of tractor owners by allowing them to rent out their machines during idle times.

IndiaMART

IndiaMART is India’s largest online business-to-business marketplace, connecting buyers with suppliers of products and services ranging from pharmaceuticals to industrial machinery to wholesale foods. IndiaMART offers more than 67 million products and services to more than 100 million buyers. Importantly, the platform gives small and medium-sized enterprises in India a place to promote their business. There are about 60 million small and medium-sized businesses in India but only around 10 million of them have any web presence, according to the most recent data. IndiaMART allows these companies to expand their market reach and sell through the platform for a subscription fee.

A thriving e-commerce economy allows for goods and services to reach a consumer base that is less affluent and lives outside of traditional urban markets, thereby increasing market accessibility and enhancing the welfare of rural and lower-income populations.

Unified Payments Interface

In the financial sector, the National Payments Corporation of India developed the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an instant real-time payment system regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. The platform allows users to access multiple bank accounts from even the most remote locations, routing funds and making payments under one seamless application. Digital finance platforms such as UPI are crucial in promoting financial inclusion and empowering individuals with tools such as loans and savings accounts.

Both private and public digital platforms have been deployed to increase accessibility in India and reach those who may otherwise be excluded from resources, services and opportunities.

– Margot Seidel
Photo: Flickr

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The Benefits of the AfCFTA for the African Economy

the AfCFTATrading within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) finally took effect on January 1, 2021. The AfCFTA is the world’s largest trading area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization with 54 of the 55 countries of the African Union (AU). The AfCFTA was established by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement signed in March 2018 by 44 AU countries. Over time, other AU countries signed on as the official start of trading under the provisions of the agreement approached. The AfCTFA is projected to create opportunities and boost the African economy. By facilitating this intra-African trade area, the international community expects sustainable growth and increased economic development.

The Implementation and Benefits of the AfCFTA

  1. Creating a Single Market. The main objective is to create a single market for goods and services to increase trading among African nations. The AfCFTA is tasked to implement protocols to eliminate trade barriers and cooperate with member states on investment and competition policies, intellectual property rights, settlement of disputes and other trade-liberating strategies.
  1. Expected Economic Boost and Trade Diversity. UNECA estimates that AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade by 52.3% once import duties and non-tariff barriers are eliminated. The AfCFTA will cover a GDP of $2.5 trillion of the market. The trade initiative will also diversify intra-African trade as it would encourage more industrial goods as opposed to extractive goods and natural resources. Historically, more than 75% of African exports outside of the continent consisted of extractive commodities whereas only 40% of intra-African trade were extractive.
  1. Collaborative Structure and Enforcement. All decisions of the AfCFTA institutions are reached by a simple majority vote. There are several key AfCFTA institutions. The AU Assembly provides oversight, guidance and interpretations of the Agreement. The Council of Ministers is designated by state parties and report to the Assembly. The Council makes the decisions that pertain to the Agreement. The Committee of Senior Trade Officials implements the decisions of the Council and monitors the development of the provisions of the AfCFTA. The Secretariat is established as an autonomous institution whose roles and responsibilities are determined by the Council.
  1. Eliminating Tariffs. State parties will progressively eliminate import duties and apply preferential tariffs to imports from other state parties. If state parties are a part of regional trade arrangements that have preferential tariffs already in place, state parties must maintain and improve on them.
  1. Settling Trade Disputes. Multilateral trading systems can bring about disputes when a state party implements a trade policy that another state party considers a breach of the Agreement. The AfCFTA has the Dispute Settlement Mechanism in place for such occasions which offers mediated consultations between disputing parties. The mechanism is only available to state parties, not private enterprises.
  1. Protecting Women Traders. According to UNECA and the African Trade Policy Centre, women are estimated to account for around 70% of informal cross-border traders. Informal trading can make women vulnerable to harassment and violence. With the reduced tariffs, it will be more affordable for women to trade through formal channels where women traders will not have to put themselves in dangerous situations.
  1. Growing Small and Medium-Sized Businesses. The elimination of import duties also opens up trading activities to small businesses in the regional markets. Small and medium-sized businesses make up 80% of the region’s businesses. Increased trading also facilitates small business products to be traded as inputs for larger enterprises in the region.
  1. Encouraging Industrialization. The AfCFTA fosters competitive manufacturing. With a successful implementation of this new trade initiative, there is potential for Africa’s manufacturing sector to double in size from $500 billion in 2015 to $1 trillion in 2025, creating 14 million stable jobs.
  1. Contributing to Sustainable Growth. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes goals that the AfCFTA contributes to. For example, Goal 8 of the Agenda is decent work and economic growth and Goal 9 is the promotion of industry. The AfCFTA initiative also contributes to Goal 17 of the Agenda as it reduces the continent’s reliance on external resources, encouraging independent financing and development.

AfCFTA: A Trade Milestone for Reducing Poverty in Africa

The establishment of the AfCFTA marks a key milestone for Africa’s continental trade system. The size of the trade area presents promising economic development and sustainable growth that reaches all market sectors and participants. Additionally, the timing of the initiative launch is expected to contribute to the alleviation of the pandemic’s economic damages.

– Malala Raharisoa Lin
Photo: Flickr

Reaffirming Relations With Ecuador

relations with EcuadorNew Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez recently introduced S.Res. 22 on January 28, 2021, in an effort to declare and strengthen the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Ecuador. Ecuador has had turbulent relationships with other countries but a stable and close one with the U.S. Both countries have promoted democracy and fought the illegal trade in narcotics together since they signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Navigation and Commerce in 1839. Positive relations with Ecuador mean improved economic relations, security and development opportunities in both countries.

What is S.Res.22?

S.Res.22 is a new agreement that updates the Trade and Investment Council Agreement. U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, and minister of foreign trade of Ecuador, Ivan Ontaneda, signed the document in Quito, Ecuador on Dec. 8, 2020. The document updates regulations against corruption in trade and reinforces regulations and processes at the border. It also gives protection to whistleblowers against other crimes like money laundering.

History of US-Ecuador Relations

Ecuador and the U.S. have a long history of good relations. Both have embassies in each other’s countries. The U.S. and Ecuador both work hard to preserve territorial integrity and share resources and harbors. U.S. and Ecuadorian law enforcement work together to address threats posed by transnational crime, narcotics and human trafficking. S.Res.22 references future imports in an effort to promise regulation upkeep with international trade. Both countries have similar goals in areas like democracy, inclusivity, health and education. These shared goals and collaborative efforts maintain positive relations with Ecuador.

Preventing Bribery and Corruption

One specific way that the U.S. and Ecuador plan to update and strengthen trade regulations, as outlined in the press release for the updated Trade and Investment Council, is through preventing corruption. The U.S. and Ecuador plan on drafting regulations to fight against bribery. Financial statements and all monetary records are to be kept current and checked. Both countries will also promote a culture of integrity where the government provides training for border patrol officers to develop honesty and transparency.

Updated Regulations on SMEs

S.Res.22 also aims to affect regulations surrounding small to medium enterprises (SMEs). The U.S. and Ecuador will rely heavily on incubators and accelerators to encourage the success of businesses at the start-up stage. SMEs play a large and significant role in the Ecuadorian economy in that they take up a large portion of the country’s GDP.

The U.S. benefits from a long-term, positive and mutually beneficial relationship with Ecuador. As countries, both have an interest in diplomacy, health and education, territorial integrity and sharing resources. These common goals have maintained positive relations with Ecuador. S.Res.22 seeks to further strengthen relations so that both countries may reap the benefits.

– Alyssa Ranola
Photo: Pexels

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Eritrean Refugees Flee Tigray Conflict in Ethiopia

Eritrean Refugees Flee Tigray Conflict in Ethiopia
The conflict surrounding the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, bordering on the south of Eritrea, has forced more than 42,000 refugees to flee west to eastern Sudan since the conflict started in November 2020. The fighting between Ethiopian soldiers and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has resulted in tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees in refugee camps. It erupted violence along Ethiopia’s northern border with targeted killings, abductions, lootings and sexual violence.

Difficulties Due to Conflict

It is still difficult to tell precisely how destructive the conflict in northern Ethiopia is since there are so many access restrictions in place. The conflict gets further complicated with the involvement of the FANO militia group and Eritrean Defence Forces. Even now, as humanitarian workers return to what were sites of violence in the weeks prior, they are finding tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees in dire straits and desperate need of aid. The last and only aid they received was food from the WFP in December 2019.

The camp structures managed to weather most of the violence, and while the TPLF spared some refugees from direct contact with the war, many experienced harassment and threats and underwent forcible recruitment. Roughly 5,000 Eritrean refugees have gone to the town of Shire, Ethiopia, and are living with no shelter, food or water.

Refugees in Sudan

This issue serves as a reminder that violence feeds the cycle of poverty in struggling countries, and conflicts like this hit the vulnerable populations hardest. This includes not only the impoverished but also the displaced. Driven away from an already precarious living situation by the violence, the Eritrean refugees that are fleeing to the impoverished nation of Sudan are malnourished and injured, and have almost none of the means to meet their daily needs.

In addition to poverty, the worst floods have ravaged Sudan in over 100 years, devastating the agricultural sector and leaving many people homeless. The threat of malaria hangs over people’s heads as they struggle to salvage their livelihoods, all while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on. This leaves Sudan ill-equipped to receive and support the refugee population flooding over the eastern border.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Founded on the tenants of the Geneva Convention of 1949, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) focuses on humanitarian aid and protection for those enduring violent conflicts. Working with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and the Red Crescent Movement, ICRC has concentrated its efforts on the Tigray refugees.

Efforts have gone toward getting the essentials to refugees by using donations for food, cooking items, blankets and soap. ICRC is also intent on ensuring that refugees have a consistent and safe water supply and a medical care center stocked with the appropriate supplies and equipment, particularly to provide specialized care for victims of sexual violence.

While Eritrean refugees are still facing the fallout from the Tigray conflict, organizations like the International Committee of The Red Cross, the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and the Red Crescent Movement are offering support. Areas these refugees have gone to, like Sudan and other parts of Ethiopia, are taking this aid and working to provide a location with food, medical care, clean water and other supplies necessary to assist refugees through this difficult time.

– Catherine Lin
Photo: Flickr

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Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan’s Youth Workforce

Youth Workforce
Pakistan is looking to bridge the skills gap between Pakistan’s youth workforce and the upcoming demands of its rising technology and automation markets. Structural change is necessary for Pakistan as the growing youth population faces challenges such as a rising unemployment rate and socioeconomic and gender disparities that keep students out of the classroom. In 2020, youth in Pakistan faced an unemployment rate as high as 8.5%; today, approximately 44% of children and teenagers are out of school. With 64% of the population younger than 30, Pakistan has more young people than ever who have the power to revolutionize its workforce by becoming re-skilled in relevant and desirable industries.

Pakistan’s Fourth Industrial Revolution

Pakistan is ushering in its fourth industrial revolution with a big challenge to overcome: enrolling more youth in schools where they can begin working with technology at an early age. This is especially critical as countries are growing increasingly dependent on online learning and employment during the worldwide COVID-19 crisis.

Pakistan’s rising investments in automation, e-commerce, digital payment systems and more requires the youth workforce to keep pace with new technologies. Such growth poses many new opportunities for the nation, including modernizing technology and making tasks such as digital banking and online learning easier.

According to Parwaaz, a reskilling initiative that the World Economic Forum supports, the top 10 skills of 2025 include:

  • Technology Use & Monitoring
  • Technology Design
  • Critical Thinking & Analysis
  • Active Learning & Learning Strategies
  • Reasoning, Problem Solving & Ideation
  • Analytical Thinking & Innovation
  • Resilience & Stress Tolerance
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Leadership & Social Influence
  • Creativity & Originality

These skills can take the Pakistani youth beyond their current capabilities by smoothing their transition into the workforce while giving existing employees opportunities for career advancement.

A Multistakeholder Approach to Success

Pakistan’s largest skills development fund, the Punjab Skills and Development Fund (PSDF), is partnering with the World Economic Forum to join the “Reskilling Revolution.” According to Managing Director Saadia Zahidi, the goal of the revolution is to bring better work, skills and education to over 1 billion people by 2030. Challenges to reskilling include high costs, disconnects between training and relevant skills and few private training opportunities. However, with the launch of Parwaaz, a more structured form of reskilling is underway.

A multi-stakeholder public and private skills training initiative, Parwaaz has pinpointed six sectors that require trained workers in order to accommodate future market demands. These sectors include:

  • ICT
  • Financial Services
  • Textile
  • Hospitality
  • Retail and Services
  • Manufacturing & Light Engineering
  • Agriculture & Livestock

Parwaaz is expecting to change the core skills of 40% of workers in the country, raise the rate of automation from 33% in 2020 to 47% by 2025 and give two out of three employers returns on human capital investment. It plans to achieve this by creating incubators that will train 1,000 young people by June 2021 in market-relevant skills. Parwaaz will continue to function with financial and policy support from the Pakistani government and support from other stakeholders such as educational institutions and industry experts.

Integrating Pakistan’s youth workforce into new, more advanced markets is a nationwide effort that will result in high-performing companies, skilled employees, increased innovation and a stable structure for the future. Ultimately, investments in technology, automation and the growing youth workforce will lead to a brighter future for everyone while helping lift vulnerable populations of poverty.

– Julia Ditmar
Photo: Flickr

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The Causes and Consequences of Child Marriages in The Middle East

Child Marriages in the Middle East
Globally, more than 700 million females living today were child brides. Annually, the Middle East contributes 700,000 child brides to its total of 40 million child brides. Although the number of Syrian child brides has decreased, there has been an increase in the number of child brides in all Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities that have seen internal displacement and are otherwise facing conflict. In Iraq, 15% of marriages were child marriages in 1997, but this rose to 24% in 2016. About 5% of those in child marriages in Iraq were younger than 15. In Yemen, which does not have a minimum legal age for marriage, two-thirds of marriages involve child brides, including 44% under the age of 15. Here is some information about child marriages in the Middle East.

Reasons for Child Marriages in the Middle East

In pre-war Syria, 15% of women between the ages of 20 and 25 were wed before they were 18. The number of child brides in all Syrian communities has risen nowadays, even among those not displaced. Among the internally displaced, including migrants whose limitations are conspicuous as opposed to hosting communities, the figures have also increased drastically.

Through forced migration and war, child marriages represent negative coping factors, reinforcing tradition. Families worry about the safety of girls and their “honor” and see marriage as a means of care and protection for their daughters. The girls’ families often desire that they enter marriages with local men in order to gain host community recognition and dowries.

Dangers of Child Marriages

Child marriages affect the development of young girls, which frequently results in childbirth and subsequent emotional withdrawal of the young mother. Early marriages often lead to limited schooling, increased fertility rate and poverty. The development and implementation of the legal minimum age for marriage are necessary to protect girls, who the culture of child marriage influences more than boys. Many countries in the MENA region have minimum marriage age laws, ranging from 13 years of age in Iran to 20 years of age in Tunisia for women and from 15 years of age in Yemen to 21 years of age in Algeria for men.

Plans to End Child Marriages in the Middle East

The Regional Accountability Framework to End Child Marriage in the Arab States/Mena (RAF), a partnership between UNICEF and UNFPA, promotes encouraging women through schooling, health services, character building and employment prosperity through improving their rights and services. Community commitments alter social norms and actions by improving public policy structures and encouraging cross-sectoral efforts to gain skills through collaborative initiatives on health, education, child security and social security. Further approaches include more years of mandatory education, establishing and implementing the legal minimum age of marriage and growing awareness in the community about the damage that early marriage causes. Engaging families in finding ways to avoid child marriage is another solution to ending child marriage that some government officials are discussing.

Overall, awareness of child marriage could save many children. It is a problem that is getting out of hand that has been taking away from girls’ childhoods and leaving them in miserable situations for the rest of their lives. The help of organizations all over the world can make a significant change in the lives of these victims.

– Rand Lateef
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