Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Covid-19 Threatens Indian Migrant Workers

Indian Migrant Workers
As COVID-19 spreads throughout India, it is revealing the country’s systematic inequalities as Indian migrant workers bear the brunt of the pandemic.

The Lockdown

India’s national lockdown began on March 25, 2020. It went into effect a mere four hours after the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, made the announcement. However, Modi’s order did not consider the impact it would have on migrant workers. As a result, millions of migrant workers were jobless and stranded in cities all across the country. Shareen Joshi, a professor at Georgetown University, spoke to The Borgen Project. Joshi described how the lockdown “appears to have been imposed to benefit India’s middle and upper classes in urban areas. It literally ‘forgot’ about 350 million migrant workers.”

Consequently, thousands of migrants had to make the dangerous journey home. With public transportation shut down, some walked hundreds of miles, often without proper protective gear or the ability to practice social distancing.

“The virus is basically systematically exposing inequalities and fault-lines in every country it seems to enter,” Joshi said.

The Pandemic Highlights Underlying Inequalities

Indian migrant workers are already a vulnerable population. They rarely belong to trade unions or work under contracts. Additionally, many migrants lack the bank accounts necessary to secure government benefits. Although the Indian government offers welfare for those below the poverty line, migrant workers often do not know how to access this relief.

Indian migrant workers were among the first to feel the economic consequences of the virus. An April 2020 report by the nonprofit organization Jan Sahas, titled Voices of the Invisible Citizens, stated that “90% laborers (approx.) have already lost their source of income” within just three weeks. This complete financial depletion left, “42% of labourers” with “no ration left even for the day, let alone for the duration of the lockdown.”

The virus has also aggravated discrimination against Indian migrant workers. Joshi stated that migrant workers represent their own “scheduled castes” within India’s caste system. Many consider migrant workers as possible carriers of the virus. Fearing infection, their communities shun them upon their return home.

Rebuilding the Economy and Addressing Inequities

As India begins to rebuild its economy, Joshi recommends “a bottom-up strategy, people-centric rather than money-centric.” This strategy would have the government invest in individual villages to create a trickle-up effect.

Moreover, this strategy would aid the Indian migrant workers. In March 2020, the president of the Indian National Congress, Sonia Gandhi, proposed that district collectors help migrants who cannot afford shelter and that the government provide transportation for migrants to get home. Joshi described a proposal to make ration cards portable. This would allow migrants to “access food in both the location they are registered and the area where they work.”

While this pandemic has brought unthinkable suffering to Indian migrant workers, it may also inspire a new fight for equality. Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of the Human Rights Watch, believes the pandemic might provide “an opportunity to end communal bias and­­­ other discrimination in governance and restore the impartiality of state institutions.” This pandemic has shown, if nothing else, the need to address the inequalities that have plagued India.

– Jessica Blatt
Photo: Flickr

Judiciary Asserts Independence in Election in Malawi

election in malawiThe people of Malawi went to the polls in May 2019 eager to make their voices heard.  Due to some electoral static, however, the world only recently received their message. Marred by allegations of impropriety and delayed by legal challenges, a resolution came in June 2020 when the country repeated the election. On June 27, 2020, 13 months following the initial vote, the election in Malawi resulted in Lazarus Chakwera becoming the nation’s next president. Thanks to courageous actions from Malawi’s top court, a nation imperiled by electoral dysfunction has achieved a peaceful transition of power.

The Election in Malawi

Shortly following the initial presidential election in Malawi on May 21, 2019, President Peter Mutharika won by a narrow margin. However, rumors of irregularities in the vote tallies began to cast doubt on the outcome. Of the 5.1 million votes cast, Mutharika won 38.6% of the vote, compared to 35.4% and 20.2% for his closest competitors. The opposition candidates, Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party and Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement, filed a lawsuit. This prompted an investigation of the Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) handling of the election in Malawi. Additionally, the angst from the controversy spilled into the streets, where thousands of citizens engaged in peaceful protests.

Following a protracted investigation, the nation’s constitutional court invalidated the results of the election in Malawi, citing “widespread, systematic and grave” anomalies. In a voluminous report, the five-judge panel cataloged a panoply of suspicious behavior. This ranged from mathematical errors to the use of correction fluid on tallying forms. There were mixed reactions to the court’s surprising decision, as Mutharika retained power while the inquiry took place. In addition, Mutharika decried the decision as “a great miscarriage of justice.” However, others lauded the decision as a powerful demonstration of judicial independence and a hallmark of a functioning democracy.

A Second Chance

The constitutional court’s decision ordered that a new election take place within 150 days of their announcement, which came in February 2020. In June 2020, the Parliament set election day for June 23. Justice Chifundo Kachale oversaw the re-run. Kachale replaced Jane Ansah as chairperson of the MEC following Ansah’s role in the initial vote. Despite the court’s stern ruling, the extent of potential election malfeasance in the initial vote remains unclear.

Leaders of the opposition claimed that correction fluid inflated the vote totals of the incumbent. In their lawsuit, the leaders implicated the MEC. Conversely, the MEC argued the fluid had only been used to alter procedural information, not the vote totals. Luke Tyburski of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center inspected the actual results sheets, which citizens can access online. Tyburski’s analysis suggests “human error instead of malicious tampering” likely caused the alterations. However, Tyburski suggests that this “does go a long way toward discrediting much of the sensational rhetoric surrounding the vote.” Whether malice or simply human error caused the error, Malawi’s top court felt compelled to clean the slate with a re-run.

Poverty and the Election in Malawi

The judiciary’s choice has broader implications than simply who serves as Malawi’s president. For one, it fortifies the people’s faith in the rule of law. Elections with contested outcomes are not new to Africa. Many leaders hold shambolic votes with impunity, while other electoral disputes cause a descent into chaos or even civil war. What makes the election in Malawi unique is the willingness of its high court to assert itself when warranted. It would have been easy to simply sanctify the initial elections in accordance with the wishes of the president. But the court chose otherwise. Although needing the courts to intervene in the democratic process is far from ideal, it may be necessary to restore the public’s confidence in free and fair elections.

As Malawi relies heavily on foreign assistance, this show of sound governance can only serve as reassurance for Malawi’s benefactors. These include the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Additionally, the court’s decision demonstrates to potential trading partners that the nation can be a stable ally. Despite a GDP growth rate of 4% in 2019, the nation’s extreme poverty rate is still around 20%. As such, the international community must see Malawi as deserving of investment and assistance to help lift its people out of poverty. The result of the re-run can do just this.

Looking Forward

When Malawians returned to the polls on June 23, 2020, the international community had a keen eye on the proceedings. This deterred potential bad actors from any hijinks and ensured that the MEC did its due diligence in properly tallying the votes. Chakwera won convincingly, garnering nearly 59% of the vote, and became president. As a result, the people of Malawi won, and democracy was victorious. This is a positive step toward garnering international aid for Malawi and reducing the poverty its citizens face.

– Brendan Wade
Photo: Flickr

How Digital Solutions Can Reform the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Increased Information TransparencyThe ready-made garment (RMG) industry is a significant source of growth for Bangladesh’s rapidly developing economy. Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of garments, and the garment industry in Bangladesh employs 4.4 million workers in more than 4600 factories. However, the size and complexity of the industry leads to poor working conditions and exploitative labor practices. These practices often do not garner attention until a tragic disaster happens, like the Rana Plaza collapse. As such, there is an urgent need for increased information transparency in the garment industry in Bangladesh to improve labor rights and workplace safety for these millions of workers. The digital initiative Mapped in Bangladesh is stepping up to the challenge.

Rana Plaza: Leaving a Legacy of Responsibility

The Rana Plaza building, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, housed five garment factories that supplied American brands. Its 2013 collapse is one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, killing at least 1,1232 people and injuring 2,500 more. In the wake of the tragedy, activists and consumers worldwide demanded the codification of workplace safety standards. However, the lack of transparency surrounding which brands used the building to produce their garments concealed the companies involved. In fact, people had to dig through rubble for loose clothing labels to confirm which companies worked at Rana Plaza.

As such, the Rana Plaza collapse was an eye-opening example of how a lack of transparency costs lives. It indicated that the first step toward reforming the garment industry in Bangladesh requires greater visibility of workers and their working conditions. Although companies saw a lack of transparency in their supply chain as a competitive advantage, disclosing of supplier factory information actually drives profits. Indeed, 85% of executives from the apparel and footwear industries say that “transparency is either extremely or very important to the industries’ success.”

Consumers’ focus on ethical manufacturing has also driven this call for reform. A survey from Accenture found that when consumers’ values do not align with a company’s position on social, ethical, and environmental issues, 42% of consumers will step away from the brand. Further, 21% will never buy from that company again. In this way, transparency serves as a tool for accountability. It provides consumers with the information they need to make more informed shopping choices and demand more ethical practices. That said, the push for information transparency requires more than shifting consumer preferences.

Mapped in Bangladesh

A promising milestone for information transparency in the garment industry in Bangladesh comes from Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB). Implemented by the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development at Brac University, this initiative has collected and published a comprehensive database of RMG export-oriented factories. It formats this information as an interactive, digital map reminiscent of Google Maps. The initiative came about as a pilot project in response to the Rana Plaza Collapse. As a stakeholder of the RMG industry explained, “If we had such a map during the Rana Plaza tragedy, we could have reacted more quickly.”

Syed Hasibuddin Hussain, the project manager for MiB, outlined their methodology to The Borgen Project. Despite not knowing the exact number of factories, the team determined the general industrial areas where they exist. Because single factories interact with the larger RMG system, they rarely exist in remote villages.

From there, they decided the most effective method would be a door-to-door census on the streets of the industry’s four major districts. Hussain described the process as using “the snowball effect to identify additional factories,” no matter how dispersed individual factories are within a cluster. As of August 2020, the MiB site displays complete data sets from the Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj districts. The researchers expect to add the last major district’s data in 2021.

Mapping Transparency for Consumers

The project aims to fill the absence of an authenticated and continuously updated method of tracing RMG producers. Additionally, it serves as an alternative to sources with unverified secondary information. Hussain added that MiB can authenticate some data points directly. These include factory name, address, certifications, products made, export countries and worker’s participation committees. However, it is impossible to completely validate information like the number of workers and their demographic breakdown.

MiB’s formal data validation process also involves cross-checking for consistency with both brands and other outside sources. Specifically, it verifies memberships with certain associations and again with the factory at a later date. When MiB finds contradictory information during the verification process, it flags the data. This lets the consumer make the final call for their purchases.

Some factories lie about which brands’ products they manufacture for marketing purposes, but brands themselves also challenge the data. Hussain shared, “Initially, we thought this transparency would be attacked by the local associations, but it was unexpected for us that brands would come in and falsify their reporting,” even when the factories show proof that they do manufacture said brands. These inconsistencies highlight exactly why transparency in the garment industry in Bangladesh is so important.

The Impact of COVID-19 Moving Forward

COVID-19 has hit Bangladesh’s RMG industry especially hard. At the end of April 2020, 1,149 factories reported that brands canceled orders for more than $3.16 billion worth of garments. In the wake of these economic impacts, activists are concerned that progress on worker protections and safety regulations after the Rana Plaza collapse will disappear.

In May and July of 2020, MiB surveyed export-oriented RMG factories to create a COVID-19 specific map. It found that a large part of the garment industry in Bangladesh is back in action. “It seems like things are getting normal, but one of the questions we asked is about how optimistic they are about the immediate future, and we found out that people were extremely pessimistic,” said Hussain. There is a possibility that factories are using their current capacity for orders that were initially canceled and recently reinstated.

Perhaps the pessimism also results from in the market uncertainty facing workers during the upcoming winter season. With the current quarantines in many Western markets, the RMG industry is not working on a natural order pipeline. Though factories traditionally produce knits and coats in the winter season, demand is sure to change with people staying home. With this added unpredictability for workers who already live under extreme financial uncertainty, the garment industry in Bangladesh requires increased information transparency now more than ever.

– Christine Mui
Photo: Wikimedia

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How Ride-Sharing Apps Can Aid the Poor

Ride-Sharing Apps
The inability to access or drive a car can be a critical reason why many individuals remain in poverty. The costs of gas, insurance, monthly installments and upkeep can be too high even for individuals who live in rural areas, where cars are a necessity. Lacking a reliable means of independent transportation can prove to be a barrier to potential employment. Many tout transit systems as a significant source of assistance for low-income individuals; however, this system is not accessible for those in rural areas. Ride-sharing apps provide considerable potential for resolving this issue and ultimately improving the lives of thousands.

Saving Gas Money

The costs of commuting can make specific job opportunities prohibitive for low-income people. However, with the global rise of carpool services like UberPOOL and LyftLine, individuals who usually would not be able to afford a long commute may be able to do so. A ride shared with four people can prove significantly cheaper than a tank of gas.

Reducing Pollution and Natural Disasters

Car emissions are not the most significant contributor to pollution. However, carbon dioxide and other noxious chemical emissions created by cars still produce a considerable dent. A study by MIT concluded that ride-sharing could reduce the number of vehicles on the road by at least 33%.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, ride-sharing apps could also help reduce the severity of impacts following weather-related disasters. Bangladesh and Pakistan, for instance, are currently dealing with unprecedented flooding. Many low-income individuals in these countries do not have the funds to relocate or repair their homes. Ride-sharing could have the ripple effect of mitigating natural disasters by aiding in this process, which could ultimately become pivotal for communities living in poverty.

Commuting Without Car Payments

Based on global averages, car payments cost the equivalent of $300-$500, except for in countries where luxury cars are standard. Additionally, factors like loan size and credit requirements can make car investments unattainable for many individuals. However, one ride using a ride-sharing app costs less than a gas tank. The amount of money saved by avoiding individual car payments can be incredibly beneficial by enabling individuals to allocate more funds to their family’s needs including food, housing and education.

Providing Opportunities for Employment

For car owners, providing shared rides can function as a source of income. While Uber and Lyft have several limiting requirements, many other popular ride-sharing apps worldwide have less restrictive rules. Such services include Gett, Bolt, Cabify and Didi. The ability to attain full-time work with only a small initial cost may be inaccessible for people living in severe poverty. Still, it could become a useful means of bridging the income gap for individuals who can afford a car payment.

A Work in Progress

Ride-sharing apps must apply to users requesting similar routes to function correctly. Apps are regularly updated to allow inquiries to reach specific vehicles, ultimately facilitating an efficient process. Continuous algorithm improvement means that there is potential for ride-sharing apps to extend their influence outside of major cities and into the rural areas where low-income individuals need them the most. Additionally, ride-sharing apps currently depend on driver input; with self-driving cars on the horizon, it may soon become possible for the impoverished in rural areas to have greater access to transportation through ride-sharing apps.

Ride-sharing apps are also struggling with a lack of regulations and safety measures for drivers and passengers. However, further rules and restrictions are gradually being implemented to handle these issues.

Ride-sharing has the fantastic potential to provide people across the globe with the myriad benefits of transportation. For low-income individuals struggling to reach their destinations through predetermined public transit routes, ride-sharing offers a feasible and relatively affordable alternative. Additionally, the implementation of vetting processes will mitigate many safety issues currently present in the industry. Ride-sharing has already proven to improve the convenience of life for many, but this system has the power to leave an incredibly positive impact on low-income individuals.

– Hannah Bratton
Photo: Flickr

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Women’s Education in The Gambia: Developing the Economy

women's education in the gambiaAcross the developing world, millions of women and girls in poverty receive little to no education. Women learn to cook, clean and care for children. Men, in contrast, often receive an education from a young age. With this advantage, men can work toward opportunities beyond the reach of their female counterparts. When girls have access to education, they can forward the benefits to their community. One educated girl can impact generations. This is why women’s education in The Gambia is important.

In The Gambia, a small West African country, girls face problems common in developing countries. The average family lives on a daily income of $1, but education after grade six costs $100 per year. Families frequently invest their small income in educating boys, whom they think will support them in adulthood. As a result, women struggle to find opportunities beyond domestic labor.

In addition to these limitations on women’s education in The Gambia, other barriers include cultural biases and teenage marriage. The culmination of these obstacles prevents nearly 50% of the Gambian population from accessing education and economic empowerment. Consequently, the lack of women’s education in Gambia hurts the country’s development.

Why Does Education Matter?

For women living in poverty, including those in The Gambia, very few opportunities wait for them. These girls face the expectation from a young age that they will grow up to become mothers and homemakers. Early on, girls learn about domestic skills and how to raise children. Men, on the other hand, have the opportunity to dive into their education and accelerate their careers.

The education of women in developing countries is absolutely critical to their personal growth. When young girls receive the same opportunities as boys, they learn essential skills that go far beyond the classroom. Health classes teach young women about the spread of illnesses and the importance of nutrition. Math lessons provide analytical skills that they can apply to household finances. Language courses allow them to communicate better with others and read the news.

For women in The Gambia, these skills would allow them to improve their own quality of life. In a nation that often undervalues gender equality, women’s education in The Gambia is a critical first step to leveling the playing field.

Women’s Education and Economic Development

The smallest country in mainland Africa, The Gambia faces limited economic development. The current regime has harmed business freedom and has contributed to the weakening labor force. With a population of around 2.1 million, the country has a limited workforce. Most jobs center on agriculture and crop exports. However, excluding women from the workforce cuts the number of potential workers in half.

Additionally, since the nation’s economy depends on crops, The Gambia’s GDP fluctuates with farmers’ production. This means that in dry seasons, when people struggle to water their crops, the economy struggles as well. In fact, the Gambian economy recently contracted by 10% as a result of erratic rainfall, according to The World Bank.

Including women in the workforce would increase the available amount of labor, which would help in cultivating crops. Additionally, more labor would allow other sectors of the economy to grow, creating a more diverse and stable economic system. If women received an education, making them more employable, more businesses would develop and the economy would grow exponentially.

Education Brings Hope

Over the past several years, efforts around the globe have worked toward improving women’s education in The Gambia. Women in The Gambia are now achieving higher levels of education, and experts predict this trend will continue. Many charities and NGOs are raising money and bringing awareness for this cause. Some are even increasing education through international programs. One of these NGOs is Janga Yakarr, which uses exchange programs in the United States to increase women’s education in The Gambia.

Janga Yakarr, which directly translates to “education, hope,” is a charitable organization founded by sisters Alexandra and Erica Chalmers in 2011. After learning about the lack of opportunities for women in The Gambia due to limited education, they decided to help. The sisters arranged a shipment of desks, chairs, whiteboards, chemistry equipment and educational materials to The Gambia. This effort meant to help children in The Gambia complete their education.

An Educational Exchange

The Chalmers became inspired by how their school supplies supported young girls and the relationships they formed with these students, who lived nearly 4000 miles away. From this point on, the Chalmers sisters wanted to enhance the relationship between students in the U.S. and in The Gambia. They now create an educational connection between the two countries.

To do so, they started the nonprofit Janga Yakurr in partnership with grassroots organization Starfish International. The organization’s aim is to raise money for women’s education in The Gambia. Additionally, it aims to foster relationships between U.S. high schoolers and students in The Gambia, as well as run exchange programs between the schools.

Alexandra Chalmers told The Borgen Project, “Looking at the struggle that many women go through in The Gambia in order to feel empowered, it opened our eyes to how much we take for granted in the United States. Our own education has provided us with so much opportunity to pursue, and we wanted to share that with these girls as well.”

The Future of Women’s Education in The Gambia

Over the past several years, many organizations like Janga Yakurr have helped make progress on women’s education in West Africa. This is important not just for women but for these countries as a whole. When young girls receive the same opportunities as young boys, they can get higher-paying jobs. From there, the labor force will continue to grow, which will improve economic stability.

Additionally, as women are more highly educated, they may help fight for women’s equality. They can use their education to fight for equal representation, for example, and to reduce female circumcision and domestic abuse. With a higher level of education, many women and girls may also gain respect and equality in other facets of life.

Education fuels empowerment. For women in poverty, they likely cannot feel empowered without education and financial support. However, women’s education in The Gambia will provide ample opportunity for them to thrive and for the whole economy to prosper.

– Daniela Canales
Photo: Flickr

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The Coronavirus in Indigenous Communities in Brazil

Brazil Indigenous coronavirusThe coronavirus has resulted in deaths all over the world, but some communities are more heavily affected than others. In Brazil, the coronavirus in Indigenous communities has taken an especially hard toll. COVID-19 disproportionately affects these often-isolated groups, which struggle to access the support systems needed to withstand this threat.

The Vulnerability of Indigenous Communities

Some Indigenous tribes living in Brazil have limited or no contact with the rest of the world. However, this isolation may render some tribes unaware of the pandemic in general or of its full seriousness. The coronavirus in Indigenous communities may also put tribe members at a greater risk, because they lack exposure to many illnesses. This means that their immune systems are often not strong enough to fight COVID-19.

Additionally, isolated Indigenous communities only have limited access to unreliable testing, contact tracing and communication of quarantine protocols. Some would have to travel for days to reach modern medical facilities providing such resources.

In particular, Indigenous communities fear the village elders contracting the coronavirus. Elders are not only the most vulnerable members of the community but may also experience the most serious effects of the disease. Additionally, many refer to these elders as “living libraries” or “living encyclopedias.” They hold tribal knowledge of culture, mythology and natural medicine, and many speak endangered languages. If coronavirus in Indigenous communities wipes out this generation of elders, their tribe’s cultural history and knowledge will die with them.

Why Outsiders Pose a Threat

The rapid spread of the coronavirus in indigenous communities often results from outsiders who visit these communities without taking the proper precautions. For example, doctors working in remote Indigenous regions have tested positive for the coronavirus. They only entered quarantine after they possibly spread the disease to multiple villages. Additionally, other medical teams have failed to follow proper quarantine protocol before entering an Indigenous reserve to care for those vulnerable to the disease.

Miners and poachers tapping resources on Indigenous lands have also spread the virus to these isolated communities. In Brazil, an estimated 40% of Yanomami people who live near these mining operations are now at risk of contracting COVID-19. Leaders from the Yanomami Indigenous Territory have spoken out, creating the hashtag #MinersOutCovidOut. Their aim is to raise awareness and demand an end to illegal gold mines and other land invasions.

The budget cuts and staff reassignment faced by FUNAI, a government agency that defends the boundaries of Indigenous land in Brazil, have made it possible for illegal miners and poachers to enter these protected regions. Indigenous people in certain tribes have also claimed that FUNAI only gave food supplies and assistance to tribes on officially demarcated land. However, even this aid was not enough to feed the large families of the tribe.

The Government in Brazil

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire in the past for dismissive statements about Indigenous communities in Brazil. He has also allowed illegal logging, mining and land grabs to continue. Currently, Bolsonaro’s administration faces criticism for its response to the pandemic. The Brazilian government’s conflicts with Indigenous communities have resulted in inadequate support required for these communities to fight COVID-19.

The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered in July 2020 that the government must create a crisis response team and develop a plan to control the coronavirus. However, Bolsonaro recently vetoed proposed laws to provide vulnerable Indigenous communities with designated intensive care beds, clean water and essential supplies. Bolsonaro defended this decision by citing excessive costs that he claimed would go against public interest.

Fighting the Coronavirus in Indigenous Communities

To fight this crisis, Brazilian Indigenous communities and outsider organizations are joining forces. The NGO Brazilian Health Expeditionary, or Expedicionários Da Saúde, has helped Indigenous people from over 700 isolated communities in the Amazon by setting up temporary medical facilities with necessary supplies. Local officials and Indigenous groups collaboratively gather money and distribute food supplies in place of the unfulfilled promise of government assistance.

Many individual tribes are also protecting themselves from the spread of the virus by remaining in isolation from the rest of the world. This means that they seek medical care within their own communities. As such, though the severity of the coronavirus in Indigenous communities in Brazil is dire, it is not without hope.

– Allie Beutel 
Photo: Pixabay

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Glamour Boutique: By Women, For Women

Glamour BoutiqueThere are a number of advancements in legal gender rights across the world. However, social norms still play a large role in preventing women from attaining economic independence. Globally, women are almost three times more likely than men to work in the unpaid sector—namely domestic work and caring for children. When the women who are confined to this lifestyle are able to find paid work, it is often part-time and low-wage. This sets them at a significant financial disadvantage. They must depend on their husbands and families to provide for their basic needs.

The Fix

The Inclusive and Equitable Local Development (IELD) sector of the United Nations Capital Development Fund fights to right these wrongs. They invest in small businesses in developing countries that are largely run by women. Through their investments, these businesses expand, hire more people, increase their consumer market and earn more money. When women achieve financial independence, the reward is multiplied. Economically secure women are likely to invest in education, health and their community.

The Entrepreneur

One of these businesses that the IELD benefits is Glamour Boutique—a fashion business in Jessore, a small town in southwestern Bangladesh.

Glamour Boutique was officially founded in 2007 by Parveen Akhter. Akhter had been kidnapped and forced into child marriage when she was in the ninth grade. Her husband—her kidnapper and a drug addict—made it a habit of abusing her throughout their seventeen-year marriage. Encouragement from her oldest son, 16-years-old at the time, led her to file for divorce and set up the Glamour Boutique House and Training Centre. It was based in her home and capitalized on the embroidery and tailoring skills Akhter had taught herself over the years. Once business picked up, she moved into a rented space.

This is when the IELD stepped in. Akhter had little money, a small market and limited machines. They loaned her nearly 30,000 USD to expand. Since then, Glamour Boutique has employed over 50 women and consistently trains around 20 in tailoring and embroidery.

More than anything, the company is female-friendly. It helps to lift women out of poverty and give them a purpose and community. Additionally, she is sensitive to her employees having outside commitments. She offers short four-hour shifts for women who are enrolled in school, have children or have other situations warranting a flexible schedule.

Mussamad Nafiza, an employee at Glamour Boutique, testifies to the beauty of working there. She describes her own and others’ financial gain and independence as well as her dreams of opening a business similar to Akhter’s. Dipa Monjundar, a friend of Akhter’s and fellow small business owner, commends Akhter’s work and celebrates the economic empowerment of women across Bangladesh.

Next Steps

Although important, investing in women’s businesses is not the only way to help women achieve economic prosperity. Commitments from men and the government are essential. They need to respect, uphold and uplift women’s rights to sustainably change the way communities approach gender disparity.

Jessore’s mayor participated in several gender equality training sessions before starting any major projects. If other community leaders encourage participation in similar training courses, economic gender parity may no longer be a far-fetched dream.

– Rebecca Blanke
Photo: Flickr

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Child Poverty in the Central African Republic

Child Poverty in the Central African Republic
Poverty is an issue the Central African Republic continues to face. In fact, around 71% of the Central African Republic’s population lives below the estimated international poverty line. In particular, child poverty in the Central African Republic is prevalent with an estimated half of the country’s population being under the age of 14. Many of these children are born into poverty, a situation they did not choose.

The Central African Republic is also one of the most impoverished nations in Africa; about 60% of the population lives in poverty. Some of the largest issues that children in the Central African Republic face are low enrollment in primary school, various armed conflicts and malnutrition. While these are significant burdens, there are several solutions that should drastically improve the situation of child poverty in the Central African Republic.

Low Enrollment for School

In countries experiencing poverty, schools can be a safe haven for many children. Not only do they offer a stable and caring environment, but they can also offer a lifeline to many children with hopes and dreams of leaving their situation. There are schools in the Central African Republic, such as the Youth Education Pack, that specifically teach trades and other professions to help young people obtain skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth Education Pack receives funding from Education Cannot Wait, a fund that is working towards providing education during crises.

The Central African Republic enrollment is incredibly low, with only 62% of boys and around 41% of girls enrolled in primary school. This creates a significant gap, with many children already deep into poverty not going to school to progress. One cause of this problem is the various armed groups in the country. One of these is the People’s Army for the Restoration of Democracy, which frequently kidnaps children and forces them to fight.

While some attend school, the problems continue. Around 6% of high schoolers in the Central African Republic complete school. One solution would be to dedicate more resources to education. Through schooling, many children in poverty in the Central African Republic would be able to both learn and grow, while progressing in their education and moving from their current living conditions. After-school programs could be of great use and benefit as well, allowing children to have a safe space away from their home lives. Baha’i communities are an incredible example, where they have found multiple ways to prioritize and bring education to children who need it. There is a definitive aspiration by many to boost education in the Central African Republic and more success stories such as the one in Baha’i are inevitable.

Armed Conflict

Unfortunately, warring groups often recruit or kidnap many children of the Central African Republic to fight as soldiers. While many generally consider the use of children in warfare abhorrent, children are often incredibly susceptible to this. They are much easier to manipulate through coercion and threats of violence to themselves and their families. These children often become physically and mentally scarred by what they have seen and done.

An effective solution is to create more programs to help reintegrate former child soldiers. As stated before, many of these children need psychological help. By being able to discuss their trauma with professionals, they are able to process what happened to them and recover from the lasting effects. Other programs must emerge to make sure children do not even join said groups in the first place, educating them on what happens when they become child soldiers.

There are efforts already on the ground to help reduce child poverty in the Central African Republic. For example, War Child has been successful in helping former child soldiers of the Central African Republic, aiding around 7,947 children in 2018 alone. Another such organization is UNICEF, which has been reintegrating child soldiers for nearly 13 years after signing an agreement with the government as well as a rebel group known as the Assembly of the Union of Democratic Forces. While there is a great deal that needs to happen, there is hope for the children of the Central African Republic who the armed conflicts of the region personally affect.

Malnutrition

A significant problem amongst impoverished children in the Central African Republic is malnutrition. It is almost a residual effect of poverty itself and of the other problems that children face in the Central African Republic, mentioned above.

Around 38% of children in the Central African Republic are chronically malnourished and in need of serious care. This is parallel to the armed conflicts as well as the considerable rise in both food prices as well as shortages. In fact, around 45% of people in the country suffer from some level of food insecurity. These problems create a cycle where a lack of food resources for farming creates poverty and poverty itself creates more food shortages.

Luckily, many organizations, like the World Food Programme (WFP), are helping combat child malnutrition in the Central African Republic. WFP began the Central African Republic Interim Country Strategic Plan in 2018, a plan which aspires to help many children and at-risk families receive food daily. This can and will tremendously help combat the issue at hand and ensure that many children do not go hungry.

WFP’s efforts extend towards schools with its school feeding programs as well. These programs have both had positive effects on school attendance as well as the nutrition of many children. Malnutrition might be a definitive problem facing the Central African Republic, but much effort is going into making sure children receive the proper nutrients daily.

While the impoverished children in the Central African Republic seem to be in an incredibly tough spot physically, mentally and emotionally, there is a future for them. Many organizations have dedicated themselves to helping them. Moreover, the granting of awareness about child poverty in the Central African Republic should help prompt others into swift action.

– Remy Desai-Patel
Photo: Flickr

Every Mother Counts: Maternal Health in Guatemala

Maternal Health in Guatemala
In 2010, American supermodel Christy Turlington Burns founded the nonprofit organization, Every Mother Counts (EMC). Following Turlington’s own challenging experience with postpartum hemorrhage, she realized that many women do not have access to the necessary resources for safe child delivery, especially when physical or mental implications arise post-partum. The organization dedicates itself to making pregnancy a safe experience for all expecting mothers.

By globally campaigning and targeting the critical flaws associated with maternal health, EMC has made significant strides toward reducing maternal mortality rates. In addition to its mobilization and awareness efforts, EMC currently provides funding for community-based programs in six selected countries. This specific roster includes how the organization aids maternal health in Guatemala.

Maternal Health in Guatemala

The most common postpartum complication and the main cause of maternal mortality is postpartum hemorrhage, otherwise known as internal bleeding. When untreated, the uncontrollable loss of blood may become fatal. Despite the dangers this poses, it is possible to mediate complications and prevent death when a specially qualified doctor or midwife is present.

Similar complications and the lack of essential healthcare contribute to the high maternal mortality rate in Guatemala: approximately 115 deaths per 100,000 live births. This alarming ratio represents the highest maternal mortality rate in Latin America. It also indicates the dire reality to which many expecting mothers are subject, including inadequate and unequal distribution of necessary prenatal and delivery services, insufficient access to necessary nutrition and overall poor social conditions.

Women living in rural areas — typically practicing traditional, indigenous lifestyles — are most at risk. In comparison to the national average, nearly three-fourths of maternal deaths occur among the indigenous population.

The combination of unstable living conditions, high fertility rates and the fact that doctors attend a low percentage of births reveal the validity of this statistic. For context, more than half of rural births occur under the supervision of under-qualified indigenous midwives, known as comadronas. Since many of them do not have the necessary skills or medical training required in the event of an issue, this leads to greater risks during delivery.

Long-term Advancements by Every Mother Counts

EMC’s contributions have led to collaborations with regional organizations in Guatemala. In partnership with Asociación Corazón del Agua, EMC has provided $180,000 in grant support toward Corazón’s university-level training programs for midwives, or parteras. Corazón is a national midwife program; recruiting students from regions with high rates of maternal mortality and incorporating indigenous traditions, such as certain birthing practices and plant-derived medicines into their training. Corazón also provides national protection for the midwife profession by certifying midwives as qualified to aid in childbirth across the country.

EMC also partners with Asociación de las Comadronas del Area Mam (ACAM). ACAM is a collective of comadronas that provides pregnant women essential healthcare and transportation services through its birth center and mobile clinics. In addition, the collective also focuses on upholding and teaching Mayan traditions in relation to pregnancy and birth. ACAM is able to continue these services and make an impact nationally based on the grants from EMC: totaling $226,000 to date.

Through its investments in midwife training, EMC is actively preventing maternal deaths and improving the overall quality of maternal health in Guatemala.

– Samantha Acevedo-Hernandez
Photo: Flickr

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How the Bread Shortage in Syria Deepened Poverty

Bread Shortage in SyriaMore than half of Syria’s population is labeled as food insecure: about 8 million people do not have access to a reliable food source. Syria is facing a major bread shortage, the first since the country’s civil war. During that time, citizens had to cut back their meals drastically due to the minimal harvest. Now, without reliable access to food, projections show that more than 500,000 children could become chronically malnourished. The shortage adds to the many other issues the country currently faces, including the civil war and the COVID-19 pandemic. This problem has a variety of implications. However, one stands out as essentially alarming: the bread shortage in Syria is deepening poverty.

The Importance of Wheat

In Syria, people consider wheat the staple ‘staff of life.’ As a sustainable agricultural product, farmers sow more than a quarter of land in Syria with wheat. The people depend on this crop as a steady food source, as it can serve poor communities in a harsh economic environment. Bread derives from wheat and is popular in the Syrian diet. If there is a disruption in government assistance to bread productivity, the entire Syrian population could be at risk of food shortages.

Bread Shortage Politics

The United States enforced the Caesar Act on Syria. This restricts humanitarian aid t0 hold President Bashar al-Assad’s government accountable for war crimes. Many Syrians dislike the Western sanctions, believing they have created overall hardships for the country: for example, the value of Syrian currency has dropped immensely due to the sanction and other contributing factors. President Assad was not able to financially compensate for the shortcomings in imports.

The Syrian President wanted to implement a rationing system in response. During the bread shortage, Syrians would be able to purchase government-rationed goods through authorized retailers. A smart card system facilitated the distribution, but only in the capital of Damascus and in Rif-Dimashq. As a result, the smart card system—and, thus, bread rations—was not accessible to all.

Western sanctions did not restrict food but implemented banking restrictions that froze assets. This action led to a trade difficulty for Syrian businesses. Grain traders were unable to conduct business as normal, and the government had to rely on businessmen to conduct bread transactions.

Living During a Bread Shortage

Overall price increases have made it difficult for Syrians to survive amidst these turbulent times: one Syrian’s monthly salary of 50,000 pounds ($21), for instance, is not enough to live on. Living on less than $1 per day makes it difficult for Syrians to eat, afford living expenses and obtain other necessities. Many citizens live in debt, and some even sell their furniture to pay their cost of living.

Food prices have also drastically increased, making it even more challenging for Syrians to eat a simple meal. Through the ration card, one family can get two kilograms of sugar, one kilogram of rice and 200 grams of tea. This amount of food should supposedly feed an entire family. However, the low quality of these products motivated many Syrians to wait in long lines for bread.

Improving the Bread Shortage

To alleviate poverty resulting from the bread shortage in Syria, the World Food Programme (WFP) provides assistance to more than 4.5 million food-insecure Syrians each month. WFP improves nutrition for malnourished families by providing emergency food during times of national hardship. Syrian mothers and children are at the greatest risk of malnutrition. WFP accordingly provides those in need with food vouchers to promote a healthy diet. Although the wheat shortage caused Syrians to cut their three meals a day to two, WFP continues to help alleviate this disparity by donating meals to families and lunches to children during school.

Wheat is a major component of the Syrian diet. The bread shortage in Syria has disrupted many lives by leaving individuals and families without sustainable amounts of food. The government introduced bread rations, yet families still go hungry with minute portions. Although Syria requires more progress, assistance from programs like WFP provides hope to those in need.

– Ann Ciancia
Photo: Flickr