Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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An Introduction to Women’s Rights in Somalia

women's rights in SomaliaSomalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa with a population of almost 14 million people. Although women and girls in Somalia consist of 50% of the country’s population, women and men are far from equal. Globally, Somalia places fourth highest on the gender inequality index. In Somalia, gender inequality is exacerbated by poverty, disability, social class and harmful practices that violate women’s rights in Somalia. Today, women in Somalia are susceptible to gender-based violence and sexual violence, an issue that is heightened in areas of conflict.

Genital Mutilation in Somalia

Common problems that perpetuate gender inequality in Somalia include female genital mutilation, child marriage, maternal mortality rates and a lack of access to fundamental tools for success, such as education, health care, credit and more. Women in Somalia, especially adolescent girls, are susceptible to undergoing genital mutilation. Often, these girls undergo this procedure before turning 13 years old, according to a 2013 report by the World Health Organization.

Somalia has the highest rate of genital mutilation, with 98% of girls undergoing the procedure. With the upsurge in coronavirus cases, girls in Somalia are forced to stay home. This leads to higher rates of genital mutilation. According to the United Nations Population Fund, the coronavirus could contribute to 2 million more instances of genital mutilation over the next decade that could have been stopped. Although genital mutilation remains legal in Somalia, the practice has no health benefits and harms women in girls in a plethora of ways as it poses health risks and robs women of the full capacity of their reproductive organs.

Maternal Mortality in Somalia

Another issue plaguing Somalia that perpetuates gender inequality is the maternal mortality rate, which is the highest of any country in the world. For children in Somalia, four in 100 infants die within the first month of their lives. Women in Somalia suffer high rates of maternal mortality due to poor health care infrastructure within the country and a lack of access to adequate services. In the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda, the central principle is “leaving no one behind.” This commitment from the United Nations involves prioritizing the rights, access and abilities of Somalian women.

Lack of Education and Leadership

In Somalia, there is a lack of women involved in political and social leadership roles. One of the reasons behind this is a lack of education. In Somalia, primary schools have one of the lowest rates of enrollment, with only 30% of children in school. Of the children in school, less than half of them are females. For girls living in rural areas, these numbers are lower. Compared to men, women in Somalia have much lower literacy levels. In Somalia, only 26% of women can read compared to 36% of men.

The Future of Women’s Rights in Somalia

Somalia remains a state of male power but there is hope that the country will become more focused on gender equality. The Somali Provisional Constitution, created in 2012, is undergoing revision. In 2021, the country is participating in a one-person-one-vote election. With the revision of the Somali constitution, there is an opportunity for empowering women and girls across the country by implementing gender equality provisions. It is hopeful that 2021 may promise more widespread opportunities for women and girls in Somalia.

– Caitlin Calfo
Photo: Flickr

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The Rising Case of Hunger in Swaziland

hunger in swazilandIn 2017, it was recorded that 58.9% of people in Swaziland were living below the poverty line. Despite the country’s lower-middle-class status, the poverty rate continues to persist. Challenges such as low economic growth, severe weather patterns, high unemployment, high cases of HIV/AIDS and a high amount of malnutrition, the Swaziland population is struggling with an immense amount of poverty. A whole 42% of the population lives on less than $1.90 a day. With people in Swaziland struggling to make ends meet, hunger in Swaziland continues to be prevalent.

Food Insecurity in Swaziland

Many Swazis are chronically food insecure. One out of three people face severe hunger, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, hunger is only increasing. With severe weather conditions, Swaziland faces poor harvest years, decreasing the amount of food that can be produced. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a tool used to improve food security, reported that 32% of the population will experience “high acute food insecurity” within the coming months due to the pandemic. COVID-19 has compounded the food insecurity situation, causing restrictions that disrupt the already limited food supply for Swazi households.

Rise Against Hunger

Humanitarian assistance programs have been a huge support system for the lack of food supplies in Swaziland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rise Against Hunger is a movement that mobilizes resources to improve poverty and create solutions for hunger in Swaziland. This movement provides life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable, Swaziland being one of the most vulnerable countries. Rise Against Hunger now partners with Salesian Missions, a humanitarian organization that gives hope to millions of youth globally, to provide food and aid to those living in poverty in Swaziland. Together, these organizations provide meals for the hungry. Beginning in 2011, this partnership has been successful, providing food and life-saving aid to malnourished individuals in Swaziland.

USAID Food Relief

As the Swaziland government struggles to deliver aid and food relief, USAID has partnered with World Vision to provide emergency food assistance. USAID is making an effort to reach 45,000 food insecure people in Swaziland by providing monthly food rations. These food rations include cornmeal and beans and vegetable oil.  Not only are USAID and World Vision providing food rations to decrease the percentage of hunger in Swaziland, but they are also working to increase the agricultural production of families that need assistance in recovering from previous droughts. With USAID stepping in to provide as much relief as possible, these efforts will produce longer-term resilience.

Hunger in Swaziland has caused many to succumb to hunger at a faster rate since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, making hunger a widespread issue. Organizations and charities are working together to provide the necessary aid essential to eradicate hunger in Swaziland.

– Kendra Anderson
Photo: Flickr

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The Inherited Burden: Combating Homelessness in Guyana

The Inherited Burden, Combating Homelessness in GuyanaIn 2015, David Granger became the president of Guyana, the Caribbean country located in mainland South America. He defeated then-incumbent President Donald Ramotar, whose party, the People’s Progressive Party, stood in power for 23 years. Granger inherited the bane in his predecessor’s side: homelessness in Guyana.

The Housing Crisis in Guyana

Guyana has many informal settlements, such as Tiger Bay. The government is having a difficult time handling the housing crisis. In 2016, 52 families lived in Tiger Bay, located in the center of Georgetown, Guyana’s capital. Ramotar administration’s failed solution to the housing deficit was to give plots of land to those who could not afford it, thus forcing them into crippling debt. This is akin to winning a free car and being unable to keep the prize because the taxes are too much. Only 55% of those plots are now occupied. If the issued land plots did not begin construction within a designated timeframe, the land reverted to the government, but the debt that came with renovating the land remained with the citizens.

Many of those land plots are on former plantations with water-logged soil and sparse infrastructure. The government prioritized low-income families and state employees in their housing schemes. One scheme involved turnkey apartments, which are apartments that are already remodeled and ready for rental. A study from the Inter-American Development Bank in 2016 estimated that the country had a deficit of 20,000 homes for low-income families and 52,000 properties in need of repairs. The housing situation has also led to citizens of Tiger Bay adopting unhygienic practices because of a lack of proper plumbing.

President Granger and Homelessness in Guyana

On June 1, 2019, seven months after he lost a vote of no confidence, President Granger vowed to combat homelessness in Guyana. He said he would, “like to leave the office when there is not a single homeless Guyanese… every Guyanese will have a roof over his or her head.” President Granger based his vow against homelessness on the Guyanese constitution. The constitution states that “every citizen has the right to proper housing accommodation.” The president stated his new idea will not connect to his predecessor’s attempts to fix homelessness in Guyana.

In February 2020, former President Granger addressed the country and announced himself as “the man with the plan” to save Guyana. One of the problems Granger plans to fix is housing. To that end, the president announced the National Squatter Regularisation Commission (NSRC). The NSRC will use funds from the National Treasury to eliminate squatting and homelessness in Guyana.

In 2017, the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) allocated approximately $43 million to have 72 houses built for squatters. The CH&PA stated that some of the squatting areas would become regulated and develop into proper housing schemes, while others, like Plastic City, will be relocated. Plastic City is among the 173 settlements the government targets. In the first half of 2019, the CH&PA supplied 541 houses, which was 54.1% of the target for 2019.

Guyana’s 8 Goals to Combat Homelessness

In 2015, the country gave itself eight goals to accomplish by 2020:

  1. Finish infrastructure before allocating the lots.
  2. Begin construction of the homes.
  3. Promote partnership between the private and the sectors to simplify the provisions of social infrastructure and community services.
  4. Foster community involvement to identify and implement community projects.
  5. Coordinate projects with the collaboration of governmental and non-governmental organizations.
  6. Integrate developmental planning.
  7. Regulate and contain squatters.
  8. Complete the divestment of land.

The Progress of Eliminating Homelessness in Guyana

From 1998 to 2007, the government ran the Low-Income (LIS) to increase ownership of land and housing that have valid equity not tied to the government. It wanted to put equity in the hands of the people. Once the program ended, the Guyanese government received a loan of $27.9 million for a second version of the LIS. This incarnation of the LIS was focused on improving the qualities of impoverished families by granting them access to housing. That program ended in 2015. Subsequently, the CH&PA acquired another $3.1 million for the Hinterland Housing Project, a spin-off of the second LIS.

On February 28, 2020, the CH&PA handed 43 houses to the people of Sand Creek Village. The houses were built as part of the Hinterland Project. Of the $3.1 million granted to the Hinterland Project, approximately $311,358 was assigned to the Sand Creek Village.

In Guyana, the homeless population faces stigma and is looked down upon by fellow countrymen. Citizens see the homeless population as people who have “failed” because of personal choices and not because they are victims of socio-economic failings that they have little to no control over. As a result, many homeless people suffer from poor mental health.

In March 2019, humanitarian organizations focused their efforts on Georgetown. The Raising and Extending Arms to Care and Help (REACH) and Potluck teamed up with local volunteering physicians and donors to assist Georgetown’s homeless population. The vulnerable population received new clothes, assistance in baths and new haircuts. In 2018, the organization reached out to 100 people to raise $100,000 for “society’s forgotten citizens.” Additionally, the Potluck NGO assisted the Guyanese homeless population by providing blood pressure and blood sugar testing and giving out over-the-counter medications.

– Pedro Vega
 Photo: Flickr

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Rise in Teen Pregnancy During Kenya’s Lockdown

rise of teen pregnancy during kenya's lockdownIn Kenya, amid COVID-19-induced lockdowns, the nation is noting a significant rise in teen pregnancies. Over a three-month period of the lockdown, there was a 40% rise in the number of teen pregnancies in Kenya, with 152,000 pregnancies reported. There are a number of reasons why this figure has increased since Kenya went into lockdown, each of which contributes to the rise in teen pregnancy.

One significant cause of the rise in teen pregnancy in Kenya is the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services during the pandemic. As the country focuses its health care system and medical resources on fighting the coronavirus and caring for the sick, reproductive health services can fall by the wayside. Additionally, historical evidence on epidemics shows that lockdowns and restrictions on movement make it difficult for girls to access the limited medical services that are available.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown

Even before the pandemic, Kenya was already struggling with reduced funding for reproductive and sexual health services and sex education in schools. The cultural taboo around talking about sexual health at home leaves Kenyan teenagers reliant on their schools for this knowledge, yet they do not receive the necessary education for pregnancy prevention because the sex education curriculum mainly focuses on HIV prevention and abstinence.

However, Kenyan students do not have access to even this limited sexual health education during lockdowns. Thus, unplanned pregnancy increases drastically as nearly 4,000 school girls have become pregnant during the Kenyan COVID-19 lockdown.

Teen pregnancy in Kenya during the lockdown also disproportionately affects girls who are living in poverty. The lockdown is stressful and even dangerous for those who struggled financially even before work and schools shut down. When they attended school, students living in poverty received free meals and hygiene products. However, students no longer have access to these resources because Kenyan schools are anticipated to remain closed until 2021.

Due to these school closures, the added burden of parents taking care of children who are now confined to their homes worsens the hardships of poverty. Additionally, many parents whose families live in poverty have lost their jobs during the pandemic. Since they no longer earn any income, parents are struggling to afford essential goods. In an effort to assist the family, teen girls may turn to older men for access to food, money and other resources they do not have access to during the pandemic, and in some cases, teens are impregnated by those men.

Lifelong Consequences

Teen girls who become pregnant during the lockdown face a lifetime of difficult consequences. Pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are the number one cause of death globally for 15 to 19-year-old girls, and in Kenya, adolescent girls made up 45% of severe abortion complication cases.

This is especially dangerous given that pregnant mothers already face the threat of coronavirus and a medical system struggling to handle the pandemic. Girls living in poverty or in areas without easy access to medical facilities risk not receiving maternal and newborn health services, putting the health of both mother and baby at risk.

The consequences of teen pregnancy in Kenya continue after childbirth and often affect the trajectory of a young mother’s future. About 98% of pregnant teenagers are not in school and most never return after giving birth. After being forced to drop out of school, teenagers struggle to secure higher-paying jobs, and thus, remain in impoverishment. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty immensely. In addition, taking care of a child requires money, time and resources that are hard to come by for impoverished teenagers. This further contributes to the poverty these girls live in because they often must raise their children without adequate funds, therefore, forcing the family deeper into poverty.

Reform Efforts

Although these statistics may seem dire, organizations in Kenya are working to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy and ensure mothers and babies get proper health care support. The Kenya Association for Maternal and Neonatal Health (KAMANEH) works to promote reproductive health education and provide affordable, accessible health services. These essential services make pregnancy and childbirth much safer for Kenyan women and girls living in poverty.

KAMANEH has partnered with the Medical Link Integrated Health Program, a Kenyan NGO. The partners work to develop reproductive health programs in hospitals and maternity centers in impoverished areas of Nairobi. The organization also runs women’s groups that host training once or twice a year on maternal and reproductive health.

The groups then produce songs and performances about proper health behaviors to educate their communities. KAMANEH works to establish 21 health care facilities throughout impoverished counties in Kenya with high maternal mortality rates. To help improve maternal health care quality, KAMANEH plans to equip these clinics with trained midwives and medical supplies.

COVID-19 lockdowns contribute to the rise in teen pregnancy rates. The structure of the Kenyan health and education systems has worsened the situation substantially. But, with the proper reproductive education and health services, there is still hope for Kenyan teenagers to overcome this issue.

– Allie Beutel
Photo: Flickr

The New Eco-Label to Support Sustainable Rice Production 

Sustainable Rice ProductionRice is a staple crop around the world upon which billions of people rely, especially those in developing countries who may be living below the poverty line. For this reason, consistent and even increased quantities of rice will be increasingly important as populations continue to grow. However, the potential for sustainable rice production is in question because it consumes massive amounts of finite natural resources and productivity has already begun to decline. Responding to this growing issue, the multi-stakeholder organization called the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP), will launch a new U.N.-backed initiative in 2020 to reduce the environmental impact of rice. The SRP was established in 2011 by the U.N. Environment and the International Rice Research Institute with the goal of promoting greater resource efficiency and incorporating sustainability standards in the production, trade and consumption sectors.

The SRP’s new label will support this mission primarily by labeling rice products according to their production methods and encouraging consumers to purchase sustainably produced rice. The SRP plans to introduce this eco-label by the end of 2020 with hopes that it will support the popularity of sustainable farming practices.

Rice as a Crucial Crop

Rice ranks as one of the top three most popular food crops in the world alongside wheat and corn with over 3.5 billion people relying on rice in their daily diets. This dependence on rice is most strongly felt in developing countries where rice comprises the single most important food and its accessibility is often connected to overall food security and even political stability. The top five consumers of rice are China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Furthermore, these countries along with other countries with high rice consumption are still considered developing and make up the most densely populated countries in the world. As the world’s population continues to increase, rice consumption is projected to grow 13% by 2027, requiring more land and resources to meet this demand.

Rice Farming

Around the world, roughly 144 million smallholder farmers produce rice. About 90% of them live near or below the poverty line, earning between $2 to $7 per day on average.

In order to ensure rice quantities remain sustainable and necessary resources are not exhausted in the future, the SRP is advocating for changes in production practices. Experts predict that the productivity of rice will decrease by 15% by 2050 due to environmental changes, putting the future of rice yields in question. Currently, rice production consumes 30-40% of the world’s freshwater resources and also accounts for 10% of anthropogenic methane emissions. Responding to these environmental challenges, consumers and professionals are increasingly demanding more sustainable food options. To meet the demands of rice consumers and avoid exhausting the Earth’s resources, the SRP plans to help guide farmers in their transition towards sustainability.

The SRP Assurance Scheme

With many factors challenging the future of rice productivity, the new SRP Assurance Scheme aims to reduce the environmental impact of rice production which will have the added benefit of stable production yields in the future. To achieve this, the new U.N.-backed program has launched an ecolabel for rice that is sustainably produced according to the SRP’s Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation. The label will offer greater transparency on where and how a rice product was produced, allowing consumers to “track and trace the rice back to its origin country” and make educated decisions and choose sustainable produced rice.

Farmers are incentivized to switch to sustainable practices because those with SRP approval may see an estimated income boost of 10-20%. Furthermore, the SRP asserts that switching to more sustainable practices to qualify for the new label will not be difficult for farmers because the required changes are practical, cost-effective and under the farmer’s control. Implementing these changes, however, will require increased access to knowledge and training about farming practices, which the SRP plans to provide through group certification.

The SRP has already worked with farmers in Vietnam, Thailand, India and Indonesia to improve their farming practices to be more sustainable and resource-efficient by showing them methods that use less water, better seeds, and less fertilizer. Pilot projects have been successful in improving production and increasing the income of farmers.

Through the creation of this new eco-label, the SRP hopes to improve the process of rice production in many ways. Not only will greater sustainability lead to greater and more consistent output in the future, but the livelihoods of farmers will also be improved. This change would especially positively impact developing countries where people are most reliant on rice and low-income farmers who rely on consistent rice yields. If rice production is to meet increasing demand, adapting to more sustainable practices will be necessary and the SRP’s initiative is a step in the right direction.

 – Angelica Smyrnios
Photo: Flickr

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Ending Child Marriage in Kyrgyzstan

Child Marriage in KyrgyzstanPatriarchal culture and deep-rooted traditions within the country have contributed to child marriage in Kyrgyzstan. Despite the legal age for marriage being 18, an estimated 19% of girls in Kyrgyzstan are married before this age. Due to the country’s history and various social factors, child marriage in Kyrgyzstan remains an issue. Organizations such as the National Federation of Women’s Communities of Kyrgyzstan, are fighting for girls’ rights in the country.

History of Child Marriage in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan was formerly a member of the Soviet Union. Under Soviet control, many of the traditions and values of the country were repressed. Following the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union, the government of Kyrgyzstan attempted to maintain power by appealing to nationalism and reviving the traditions of the country. One of these traditions was the practice of child marriage, which has seen increases in many Central Asian countries following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Factors Associated with Child Marriage

Social issues, including poverty, lack of education, cultural emphasis on honor and practices of bride kidnapping, contribute to the practice of child marriage. In Kyrgyzstan’s poorest households, 16% of girls are married as children compared to 9% of girls from families with higher incomes. Girls with primary or no education are more likely to be married by the age of 18 than girls with a more substantial education – 4% compared to 33%, respectively.

Kyrgyzstan culture emphasizes family honor and child marriage is linked to the desire to ensure that girls do not engage in premarital sex. Child marriage is also linked to the practice of bride kidnapping, where the girl is taken by force to the house of a man who wants to marry her and is slowly convinced by him and his family to agree to the marriage. An estimated 12,000 bride kidnappings occur each year and it is believed that many girls agree to child marriages in an attempt to avoid being kidnapped.

Effects of Child Marriage in Kyrgyzstan

Child marriage causes many hardships for women and girls in Kyrgyzstan. Due to the unequal nature of child marriages, domestic violence is common for child brides. Child brides often face difficulties during pregnancy and childbirth due to their young age and immature physical development. These marriages often put an end to girls’ education as they have to drop out of school to raise children and undertake domestic tasks. This limits their future ability to find jobs and become financially independent, putting them at risk of being unable to leave abusive relationships.

In addition, because child marriages are illegal under Kyrgyzstan’s laws, many of these marriages are not officially registered with the state until both parties are over the age of 18, the legal age for marriage. Since women in unregistered marriages do not have access to resources such as property, alimony and child support, they are limited in their independence and ability to leave a marriage.

The National Federation of Women’s Communities of Kyrgyzstan

A key organization combatting child marriage in Kyrgyzstan is the National Federation of Women’s Communities of Kyrgyzstan (NFFCK). NFFCK is an organization created by teenage girls with the mission of giving girls throughout the country the tools and knowledge necessary to avoid child marriages and other forms of gender discrimination. The organization provides sex education and awareness programs regarding health issues, smoking and drugs, in addition to teaching leadership skills. NFFCK also is an advocacy organization, conducting awareness campaigns on social issues such as child marriage to create policy changes.

A grant provided to NFFCK by the U.N. Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women allowed the organization to create an educational program, Educating Girls Through Education, Art and Media, in three villages. The program had benefited 600 people as of 2016.

Over the course of just two years, NFFCK worked with 41 girls to avoid child marriage through its education and leadership-building programs. NFFCK provided nearly 500 girls with some form of “practical support” and more than 1,600 girls with “consultations on child marriage and bride kidnapping.” Overall, NFFCK has educated 12,000 girls on their rights.

Governmental Efforts to End Child Marriage

The government is also committing to do more to end child marriages. In 2016, President Almazbek Atambayev passed Article 155, which creates a legal basis for the punishment of adults who perform marriage ceremonies involving minors. The 2015-2017 National Action Plan on Gender Equality also included awareness programs for the public and the military on the harmful effects of child marriage. Still, an estimated 14% of girls under the age of 18 were married in 2019, indicating that child marriage in Kyrgyzstan remains a serious issue. With ongoing efforts and commitments from the government and organizations, child marriage in Kyrgyzstan can be successfully combated.

– Sydney Leiter
Photo: Flickr

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4 Facts About the Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect

The Nike Foundation’s Girl EffectAround the world, many young girls are without access to basic health and educational resources. Research has shown that gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives are key to alleviating global poverty. Over the years, organizations have developed across the globe committed to providing such resources in order to improve the quality of life for millions. One of those organizations is The Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect. This organization is a creative nonprofit working where girls are marginalized and vulnerable.

4 Facts About Girl Effect

1. Girl Effect has been in operation for 12 years. The Nike Foundation launched Girl Effect in 2008 at the World Economic Forum. According to its website, “The Girl Effect is about the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and the world.” Nike designed the organization to inspire the most influential leaders in the world to get girls in vulnerable nations on the global development agenda and help increase the drive of resources to them. Girl Effect also aims to create media resources for girls around the world in order to increase their access to resources surrounding education and healthcare. Through partnerships with prominent organizations and creating branded media content, Girl Effect has provided millions of girls access to life-saving information.

2. It uses media and the internet to reach girls in developing nations. Girl Effect creates branded media for girls around the world that helps to “navigate the pivotal time of adolescence so they can make positive choices about their health, education and economic future.” Girl Effect currently operates seven different digital programs to reach girls around the world; Chhaa Jaa, Ni Nyampinga, Springster, TEGA, Tujibebe, Yegna and Zathu. The Chhaa Jaa program, which means “go forth and shine” in Hindi, is a “digital-first youth brand that inspires, informs and equips girls in India with the right skills and confidence to navigate adolescence.” These resources include helping girls access information about sexual and reproductive health, how to negotiate with parents about their choices for continuing their education, and how to prepare for their first job. Tujibebe is a program that was born from Tanzanian culture and is a mobile-based brand focused on helping provide adolescent girls with information and resources they need to make positive choices about their future. This includes how to finish their education and setting up their own small business.

3. It partners with numerous organizations to share its message. Girl Effect has worked with organizations from a variety of industries, from nonprofits to social media networks, to help effectively spread its message to girls across the world. One of the largest nonprofit organizations that it partners with is UNICEF. Together the organizations support and promote the Ni Nyampinga program in Rwanda. Through this partnership, UNICEF and Girl Effect have been able to make Ni Nyampinga a nation-wide movement with 80% of the population of Rwanda aware of it, which is almost 6.6 million Rwandans. Another prominent partner of the organization is Facebook. Through the use of Facebook’s Free Basics platform, which provides people with full access to services on their mobile phones, Girl Effect is able to promote its Springster program on a worldwide scale. Through this partnership, Facebook and Girl Effect have been able to reach over 12 million users in the past year alone. The program is available in over 50 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines and Indonesia. A few additional Girl Effect partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi and Mastercard Foundation.

4.  The Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect made great strides reaching developing countries. Since its introduction in 2008, Girl Effect has been able to reach millions of girls in developing nations to provide education and resources. In India and South Africa, its online chatbots have responded to over 1.2 million messages asking for advice on sex and healthy relationships. It has helped connect over 15,000 girls in India with efficient sexual and reproductive health information and services online. In Malawi, girls who read Girl Effect magazine are 32% more likely than non-readers to go to a medical provider and receive their first dose of HPV medication. In Indonesia, those who have seen Girl Effect’s digital nutrition campaign are 32% more likely to make healthier food choices than those who did not view it.

Girl Effect Closes the Gender Gap

Since its beginning, The Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect has helped to create media for girls around the world to provide resources on how to improve their education, healthcare and well-being. For years, the world has struggled to include girls in the many advances that have been made in healthcare and education. However, organizations like Girl Effect help to close this gap.

– Sara Holm
Photo: Flickr

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3 Innovative Plans From the Government of Ghana

Government of GhanaThe African country of Ghana, home to more than 30 million people, is a particularly influential nation in the region and a capable force for innovation. It is recognized as the third most peaceful country in sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. State Department asserts that Ghana’s economy has been “historically  regarded as one of the drivers for West Africa.” Unfortunately, due in major part to the COVID-19 pandemic, this economy has suffered robust declines, with Ghanaian annual GDP growth falling almost 80% between 2019 and 2020. National leadership from the government of Ghana, and particularly the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation, stands as a testament to still capable strides being made in gender equality initiatives, natural resource protection and climate action spheres.

3 Innovative Plans From the Government of Ghana

  1. GIRC Centre. The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation (MESTI) is heavily involved in promoting both research opportunities and funding the next great wave of Ghanaian technology to put the country on the cutting edge. To that end, the newly established Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation (GIRC) Centre is already inspiring initiatives to introduce to the national parliament. Support for Ghana’s modernization and continued movement into the research effort has been given by the Science Granting Councils Initiative, which “aims to strengthen the capacities of 15 science granting councils in sub-Saharan Africa.” The GIRC Centre, to begin its ambitious scientific goals and in conjunction with the government of Ghana, will also be setting up a National Research Fund, into which financial backing measured by Ghana’s GDP will be introduced. The fund aims to be all-inclusive and only has the pursuit of scientific development in its intentions; notably, equal disbursement, regardless of gender or disability, is a focal point in the ministry’s announcement, signaling that the nation’s STEM-based progress is also progressive toward inclusion.
  2. National Biodiversity Steering Committee. An already critical part of Ghana’s relationship with poverty is its relationship with natural resources. The country’s strong development propelled its poverty trends into lower and lower bounds, from a national poverty rate of more than 50% in 1991 to a rate of less than 10% in 2013. Urbanization, reliant on oil, gas and other natural resources, also requires a careful level of balance with the environment, particularly for long-lasting sustainability. Recognizing this, the government of Ghana has established a recently equipped National Biodiversity Steering Committee. Functioning under MESTI, the Committee’s primary directive is to maintain policy that ensures Ghana’s environmental strength, which is a particularly staggering responsibility in a nation whose primary exports of cocoa, gold and sawn wood, are all dependent on conscientious management of Ghana’s environmental resources.
  3. Climate Development Revision Goals. Equally in line with Ghana’s focus on future resiliency is a national push for redevelopment under the Paris guidelines for climate-aware policy. Ghanaian efforts have faced logistical and financial difficulty but meaningful steps help deliver more efficient energy to areas and even supply grants to northern areas in order to facilitate community-wide adaptations to projected climate changes. Partnered efforts with the UNDP have also led to cross-cultural inroads to other nations, such as Switzerland, which lends the government of Ghana greater resources, greater economic strength that the nation can then use to weather poverty and health crises while establishing greater international legitimacy.

These combined efforts all play into larger plans for Ghana’s advancing growth, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many poverty and health alleviation goals inexorably tie to the status of the government and the country at large. Progressive policies that put growth on track, encourage innovation from all sectors and actively ensure natural balances between communities, protect not only a government but an entire country.

– Alan Mathew
Photo: Flickr

Fighting for the World’s Poor with Slow Fashion

slow FashionPrior to the rise of fast fashion, the latest runway designs slowly trickled their way into the masses, but the quickening and cheapening of clothing creation have forever changed the way people shop. This detrimental and exploitative process is mostly in vain since the clothes are so cheap that 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year. “Fast fashion” refers to cheap and trendy clothing that utilizes the rapid production of the globalized economy to produce items as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Although this might seem exciting, fast fashion as a phenomenon is often pointed to as one of the prime contributors to the waste and exploitation of the world’s impoverished that takes the glamour out of fashion. However, slow fashion stands as the antidote.

Fast Fashion and Poverty

To make clothing cheaper, more dangerous and toxic chemicals are used in factories where workers make below living wages. Worldwide, one in six workers is employed by the fashion industry and the majority of these workers are women. Many workers are also children as young as 10 years old.  Over the past few decades, factories have moved to low-income countries where workers’ union laws and human rights protections are less stringent. An Oxfam 2019 report found that 0% of Bangladeshi garment workers and 1% of Vietnamese garment workers earn a living wage. The culture of exploitation within the factories makes women vulnerable to abuse but they cannot report it for fear of losing income.

The millions of the world’s impoverished working in the bottom rung of the fashion ladder deserve better. One study found that a $20 shirt would only need to cost $0.20 more for Indian factory workers to earn a living wage. Another breakdown of a £29 T-shirt found that only 18 euro cents go to the worker’s pay.  As consumers of fashion, individuals can help combat this by participating in “slow fashion.” Slow fashion stands as the antidote to fast fashion by prioritizing quality clothing that is made ethically and sustainably created to last. Here are some ways to participate in this movement.

How to Participate in Slow Fashion

  1. Good On You: Good On You is a site dedicated to bringing slow fashion to consumers. Type a brand into the directory and the site will provide you with an ethics and sustainability rating and a justification for the assessment. This is especially helpful if one is new to a brand.
  2. The Fashion Transparency Index: This is an assessment by experts of the 250 largest clothing retailers to provide an individual with insight into retailers’ ethics and production.
  3. Online Thrifting: Although rifling through a local thrift store is a fun adventure, for those looking for specific secondhand clothing, online stores are a helpful tool. Thredup’s site has something for every budget and resells household brand items at varying prices and conditions. Thredup also provides a clean-out kit for those who wish to sell or donate clothing. TheRealReal and Vestaire Collective provide for luxury consumers. For lovers of luxury items, these sites are perfect and the companies authenticate items for the purchaser.
  4. The 30 Wears Test: Before purchasing a clothing item, one must ask if one will wear it a minimum of 30 times. Take inventory of items one owns that will pair well with the said item.
  5. Learn how to mend clothing: Not only can this skill come in handy in case of emergency but instead of discarding an item that is damaged, one would be more inclined to fix it.
  6. Quality over quantity: Critics of sustainable fashion argue that its prices are too high. Investing in staple clothes that are built to last is more affordable in the long term than constantly buying cheaper and trendier items.

Looking Forward

Fast fashion is tempting. The prices and designs are more attractive and accessible than many brands that source higher quality materials and pay their workforces more. But, as more people demand sustainable fashion, creative and affordable solutions become available. Together, consumers can demand better for the impoverished garment workers that create the world’s clothing, and thus, transform the industry.

– Elizabeth Stankovits
Photo: Flickr

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The Samsung Global Goals App: Supporting SDGs With a Tap

The Samsung Global Goals App, Supporting SDGs With a TapIn 2015, the United Nations General Assembly announced a pledge to change the world for the better by the year 2030. That pledge led to the Sustainable Development Goals, also known simply as the Global Goals, which aim to eradicate hunger, combat inequality and clean up the planet. To this end, Samsung has joined the efforts to see the world accomplish these goals and released the Samsung Global Goals app in 2019.

The Samsung Global Goals

The Samsung Global Goals app’s purpose is to “take action on the Global Goals and make the world a better place,” according to the app’s Google Play Store listing. The app has three intentions:

  1. Know the Goals: This allows the user to discover what all 17 goals are about and lets the user determine which one they care about the most and want to support the most.
  2. Get the Facts: Lets the user see statistics about the Global Goals and what important areas organizations are working on to alleviate global poverty and build a sustainable world.
  3. Monitor Donations: This function allows the user to track their donation history and see which of the Global Goals are progressing worst than others.

Donating With a Simple Tap

The app puts Samsung’s advertising revenue to good use. Every ad the user views inside the app earns money that can be donated toward a goal, the user can choose to keep donating to one goal or keep switching between goals. If the user is using the app on a Samsung phone or tablet in the U.S., Singapore, Canada or the U.K., they can use Samsung’s own payment system, Samsung Pay, or if they are on another Android device, they can use Google Pay.

Samsung will also match the user’s donation as the South Korean tech giant’s attempt to brand themselves as a “global corporate citizen.” If the user cannot donate, then they can raise funds by allowing the app to place ads on the user’s lock screen as they charge their devices and the user can select which of the goals those funds will go toward. After an update on January 2020, the app allows users to put inspiring messages and quotes from famous humanitarians and messages about the planet’s climate situation.

United Nations’ Initiatives to Accomplish its SDGs

The Samsung Global Goals app is just one of the new ways the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is attempting to advertise the Global Goals. The UNDP is partnering with different companies to promote the idea and raise awareness of the Global Goals. In America, the UNDP teamed up with iHeart Media to create short messages from famous pop stars about the Global Goals and how citizens can help accomplish them.

Even though the Samsung Global Goals app comes from a place of philanthropy, it would probably do more good for the Global Goals and the UNDP if the app was not limited to just Samsung and the Android platforms. Instead, it should become available to outside platforms, such as Apple’s iOS, to raise even more awareness for the Global Goals, and ultimately our planet.

As we grow closer to the deadline for the SDGs, the world should see more companies following Samsung’s lead and helping the United Nations build a sustainable world by 2030.

—Pedro Vega
Photo: Flickr