Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Combating Disability and Poverty in El Salvador

Disability and Poverty in El Salvador
In El Salvador, poverty is the main impediment to child education. With a population of 6.4 million, the poverty rate decreased from 39% to 29% in 2017. However, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely negatively affect poverty reduction and economic growth in 2020, according to The World Bank. Disability and poverty in El Salvador are an obstacle for many children living in rural areas.

The fight against poverty and the current economic crisis accentuated the already existing lack of education for the deaf population. For this reason, Fatima Project swims against the current with the hope of instructing disabled children one by one. The project intends to create an educational system that teaches deaf children primary and secondary education so that they can access university and participate in it in the same way as their classmates.

The Situation

In El Salvador, there are four public schools for deaf people, but only one of them offers education from kindergarten to high school. On the other hand, few private schools provide the option for a deaf person to attend classes with an interpreter, who translates Spanish into a gestural language. In this case, the student’s parents fund the interpreter’s work. Moreover, only the University of El Salvador can offer education for the deaf and fully pay for the interpreter’s expenses. Still, the statistics are discouraging: Between 2010 and 2018, only eight deaf people graduated from college. In a deaf population of 88,000 people, what is the main obstacle and –most important- the ultimate solution?

From a Garage to NGO

In May 2017, Fátima Abarca -a deaf-mute teacher- established a small kindergarten education school for deaf children with help of the Forja Foundation, an NGO that provided the facilities. She received one classroom in Forja’s facilities in San Salvador, but that was enough to help 10 children from 3 to 7 years old. Abarca told The Borgen Project that “Becoming a teacher was a moral imperative that nourished from a deep conviction about the need to educate and guide children who like me, face hearing impairment.” The project began a few years before Fátima received a classroom when a group of parents approached her to ask for her help and she agreed to teach them in the only space available to her: the garage.

In rural areas of El Salvador, low-income families, who cannot afford education or transportation to public schools, often withdraw their children from school. In addition, some of those families have deaf children and do not speak sign language. Therefore, their children live in isolation. The latter triggered Fátima and her collaborators into action, knowing that those parents could not pay for the teacher’s services. Fundraising has kept the project going.

The project obtains funding from sponsors. For example, a donor will take on the responsibility of paying for one child’s tuition. Fátima uses the money that she has received to finance the project and pay for the teachers. Moreover, the Forja Foundation takes care of utility expenses. In addition, the NGO Gloria de Kriete awarded the project $5,000 for the category of community development in 2018. However, Fatima needs more funding to expand the project.

The Children

“The first years of age are crucial for a human being’s education. That is where we lay the foundations of knowledge for intellectual and moral development,” said Fátima. Fátima dreams of establishing a school that provides the education necessary for children to access a public high school and understand –just as she did- that the disability should not be a limitation.

Fabricio Hernández, 12, is one of her students. He has a cleft lip and congenital disorders that affect his hearing. He lives with his mother and his maternal grandparents. His mother works at a bakery to support their living. “Fabricio is an intelligent, outgoing child with an extraordinary thirst to learn,” argued his teacher.

Like Fabricio, 5-year-old Angélica Martínez struggles to learn due to the added difficulty of Asperger’s syndrome. For this reason, Fátima provides her with specialized lessons. Angelica’s parents are deaf too, so she is under the care of her mother and grandmother.

Meanwhile, Alison Diaz, 12, struggles with deafness and autism. Her parents’ divorce affected her. “Despite the difficulties that surround my star student, she has made progress in her behavior and has learned a lot,” Fátima reaffirmed.

The Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis on the Project

The school closed during the pandemic. In addition, the funds decreased because no parents were able to pay for the education the school provided. Thus, the pandemic has significantly affected children experiencing disability and poverty in El Salvador. Many of them, confined at home, do not have access to the internet. However, Fatima has found other proactive strategies to reach them: she sends schedules to parents through their mobile devices and uploads the lessons to her YouTube channel, proving that she has not given up on her fight against disability and poverty in El Salvador.

The project is a young dream. Freshly settled three years ago, Fatima has made progress in educating children who are struggling with disability in the face of poverty. Fatima has given them the opportunity to educate themselves and expand their threshold of opportunities.

– Paola Arriaza Avilés
Photo: Flickr

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How ColdHubs Is Using Solar Power to Help Smallholder Farmers

ColdHubsIn sub-Saharan countries, post-harvest crop loss is so high that nearly 50% of fresh food never reaches consumers. These losses not only diminish the economic potential of the agricultural industry, but they also aggravate food insecurity, malnourishment and stunting in young children. In turn, poor nourishment decreases productivity in individuals, which is reflected by a 2% to 3% loss in GDP. So far, many countries lack a solution to this serious problem. This is where Nigerian company ColdHubs comes in.

Post-Harvest Losses

The main culprit in post-harvest losses is spoilage, the natural process of decay and deterioration characteristic to perishable food items. While reduced temperatures can slow the pace of spoilage, sub-Saharan countries lack ample access to chilled storage spaces for produce. The small-scale farmers of sub-Saharan Africa who lack such storage face both financial and infrastructural barriers. While 62% of farmers cannot afford cooling technology, 36% do not have access to power in the first place.

In Nigeria, agriculture accounts for 22% of GDP and employs 36% of Nigerians. Nearly 90% of these Nigerians are small, family farmers. Yet large quantities of post-harvest losses pose a tremendous hurdle to their economic progress. For instance, Nigeria is home to the largest tomato production belt in West Africa. However, nearly half of the crop of tomatoes spoils each year. As of 2017, post-harvest losses in Nigeria cost up to $9 billion dollars annually. Meanwhile, more than 5 million people in Nigeria are food insecure. Two million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and 45% of all child deaths are due to malnutrition.

Cabbage in Nigeria: A Case Study

One company is working to make a dent in those statistics. In 2013, a radio journalist specializing in agricultural news was following the journey of cabbage from farms to markets in Jos, Nigeria. What the journalist, Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, hadn’t anticipated addressing was the story of the cabbage post-market. Farmers abandoned the cabbage that didn’t sell, leaving edible food to rot. Ikegwuonu tracked down the farmers, asking why they had left the cabbage and how to avoid such a situation.

In a recent interview with The Borgen Project, Ikegwuonu recounted, “They actually told me that if there was a form of storage inside the market, that it would be very useful to them to actually store their produce and then come back in the next week to pick up their produce [for sale] when there is less cabbage in that market.” It was this moment that inspired Ikegwuonu to develop ColdHubs. The idea: 100% solar-powered, walk-in cold rooms for food storage, installed in Nigerian markets and farms.

How ColdHubs Helps

The ColdHubs business model is simple. Farmers store perishable items in reusable crates provided by ColdHubs, using a flexible pay-as-you-store subscription. The crates then go into a ColdHub refrigerated room powered by solar panels. Each unit features enough solar panels to generate six kilowatts of energy every hour. However, the cold room itself uses up only 1.5 to 2 kilowatts per hour. This surplus allows for refrigeration to continue to run on rainy or cloudy days.

For a daily flat fee per crate stored, the solar-powered system allows farmers access to 24/7 chilled storage that operates entirely off the grid. This storage extends the shelf life of perishable foods from two days to 21 days. Importantly, this leads to an 80% reduction in post-harvest loss and a 25% increase in smallholder farmer income. For the 24 ColdHubs presently in use, some 3,517 smallholder farmers use the service. So far, ColdHubs has saved more than 20,000 tons of food from spoilage. Another 30 ColdHubs are currently under varying stages of construction. By the end of the year, the company hopes to have 50 ColdHubs fully operational throughout Nigeria.

Supporting Women and Farmers

ColdHubs looks not only to serve economic and renewable ends, but social ones as well. ColdHubs aims to employ women for its management and oversight operations. Thus far, the organization has created new jobs for 48 women. Additionally, ColdHubs is careful to maintain an affordable model ultimately aimed to support farmers over increasing profit.

“We designed Cold Hubs from a smallholder farmer from our perspective. I’m a smallholder farmer myself. The design was specifically suited so that the technology and service would be affordable,” Ikegwuonu explained. This manifests in the pay-as-you store model, as opposed to selling cold rooms outright. “We actually take up the risk of building in a cold room, and in three to four years we recover on that capital expenditure. It’s a slow, philanthropic process.”

Why It Matters Now

The proliferation of ColdHubs throughout Nigeria comes at a crucial moment, as farming seasons become more and more volatile. With prolonged heatwaves and an increasingly erratic rainy season, rain-reliant smallholder farmers struggle to raise  crops, predict growing seasons, and sell food before it rots.

“Once you harvest tomatoes, you have approximately 48 hours to sell it. With increased heat, it has actually reduced now to about 32 hours to sell that tomato.” Ikegwuonu added. With climate change in mind, ColdHubs operates with as much attention to its own climate footprint as possible. In addition to being entirely solar-powered, the cold rooms also use natural refrigerants. This reduces their contribution to atmospheric pollution.

Since approximately 54% of the working population in the continent of Africa relies on agriculture for income, ColdHubs could be a lifeline in the fight against hunger. The organization intends to bring its technology into other regions of Africa. As in Nigeria, it hopes to uplift smallholder farmers. “The future for us is to be running close to 10,000 ColdHubs in about five to 10 years, all across Africa,” Ikegwuonu shared. Once ColdHubs spreads throughout Africa, he hopes to bring the technology to developing countries across the globe.

– Alexandra Black
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of Poverty and GDP on Education in Malaysia

education in malaysiaMillions of individuals struggle to get an education in Malaysia. This is due to systemic repercussions of poverty, stigma and lack of resources. However, the Malaysian government and the U.N. have released conflicting numbers regarding the poverty rate in Malaysia. Malaysia reports that the poverty rate is less than 1%. But the U.N. contends that the poverty line should be adjusted for accuracy to 15% to 20%. When statistics ignore the reality of those living in extreme poverty, the consequences go beyond understanding household income and financial security. Poverty deprives individuals of job opportunities and education in Malaysia, as well as exposes them to discrimination.

Poverty and Education in Malaysia

Lori Niehaus is a 2019 Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia and founder of the Change Makers program. Niehaus told The Borgen Project about the significant role that poverty plays in Kelantan, the Malaysian state with the lowest GDP. Poverty impacts the daily lives of students and their ability to get an education in Malaysia. For starters, many students are driven for financial reasons to work all night to support their families. As a result, they have less time to study, which puts them at a disadvantage in school.

Through the stratification process in public schools in Kelantan, students with low scores in any subject are designated to lower-level classes. These classes receive very little attention and resources from their schools. In some cases, students often arrive at school and sit in a classroom without a teacher the entire day. As such, this stratification further stalls their education and deprives them of opportunities to advance.

Additionally, social stigmas that result from poverty and Kelantan’s low GDP rate also deprive students and adults of professional opportunities. Kelantan is unique in that its population speaks its own language, a mix of standard Malay and Thai. However, wealthier populations within Malaysia speak standard Malay. Niehaus told The Borgen Project that standard Malay speakers “automatically discount Kelantanese as less educated, and that creates a mental and cyclical effect on what they feel capable of accomplishing.”

Gender Disparities in Education in Malaysia

Along with poverty, gender disparities in the classroom prove to be another obstacle to education in Malaysia. Social and cultural gender disparities produce a stifling, hyper-gendered environment for girls. In that environment, academic insecurities and shyness prevent female students in school from reaching their full potential. To combat gender disparities in Kelantan, Niehaus and a colleague created the Change Makers program in their community.

Change Makers

Through a two-day, one-night camp, the Change Makers program worked with 80 female students from four different high schools. The camp fostered an academic environment in which girls have the chance to engage in problem-solving workshops. Moreover, the camp curriculum included three major issues. These are mass displacement (in the context of the Rohingya crisis), environmental issues and the relationship between racism and identity.

However, because Niehaus and colleagues facilitated this particular program, it will not continue in the future. But schools support similar events every few years. Without initiatives like these, female students around the world will continue face challenges while pursuing their education in Malaysia or chasing professional opportunities.

“The purpose of Change Makers was to encourage our [students] to think critically about the problems that their community—both in Kota Bharu, their city, and in Malaysia at large—face and how we might bring about change,” said Niehaus. Niehaus believes that by creating conversations about change for marginalized groups within Kota Bharu and Malaysia as a whole, students will find ways to think critically and effect real change in their communities. They may then be able to work on solving problems with education in Malaysia within their own communities.

– Nye Day
Photo: Flickr

Village Enterprise Fights Poverty in Africa

Village Enterprise
There are a plethora of organizations with eradicating global poverty at its center. Many focus on specific continents as there are many poverty-stricken countries across these areas. Africa is one of many continents in need of help. One in three Africans, 422 million people, live below the global poverty line and represent more than 70% of the world’s poorest people. On the bright side, one organization making a tangible difference in these numbers is Village Enterprise. Village Enterprise fights poverty in Africa in multiple ways.

Village Enterprise started in 1987 and is working towards ending poverty in East Africa through various methodologies. It has transformed over 1 million lives throughout its establishment. Its focus is eradication through entrepreneurship and innovation with a focus on women, rural youth and refugees. These three categories tend to be the most vulnerable groups with the least resources for success.

Facts About Village Enterprise

The Village Enterprise Graduation program is the primary way they aid Africa. It started over 48,000 businesses and trained over 185,000 East Africans through its program. It targets individuals who have no prior business experience, live on less than US$1.90 a day and are unable to provide for their basic needs.

Village Enterprise fights poverty in Africa by providing groups of three entrepreneurs with cash as seed capital, training and mentoring. These groups filter into Business Savings Groups (BSGSs) of 10. This allows them further access to growth capital, safe savings and social capital. These businesses have included farming, restaurants, beekeeping and small retail stores. Additionally, studies have shown that this program has led to increased consumption, assets and income, and improved nutrition and well-being.

Women Empowerment in Africa

One of its main focuses is empowering women. In fact, 75% of its business owners are women, which is essential because seven out of 10 of the world’s hungry are women. Additionally, in East Africa, women are more likely to be illiterate, underpaid and provided with food than men.

However, with the help of Village Enterprise, financially-empowered women can prioritize these areas to benefit their families. They can do this to benefit their communities as well. The Village Enterprise program analyses show that households with female participants reported increased standing in the city and subjective well-being. This includes improved mental health and happiness, which all work towards ending global poverty.

Empowerment for the Youth of Africa

Regarding empowering the rural youth, over 75% of East Africa’s population is younger than 35. Therefore, investing in youth unlocks economic opportunities in the future. Most rural youths are unemployed because of a few economic opportunities.

By stepping up in places like Kitgum, Uganda, the rural youth can start providing for themselves and their family. Village Enterprise adapted its Graduation program for youth. This created the Mastercard Foundation-funded DYNAMIC (Driving Youth-led New Agribusiness and Microenterprise). It allows children to have agricultural opportunities for economic activity.

Providing Help for Refugees

Finally, Village Enterprise fights poverty by focusing on empowering refugees through another adaptation of its Graduation program. The refugee population in Uganda is at nearly 1.5 million people, so helping the community economically is vital in Africa.

It worked with other organizations to conduct assessments for its programming in the West Nile refugee settlements of Bidi Bidi, Rhino Camp and Palorinya. Following these assessments, it paired refugees with community members to small businesses. Doing this promotes resilience and reduces aid alliance, improving outcomes for the refugees.

Overall, the work of Village Enterprise is inspiring. It demonstrates how vital aid is for other countries, and how a little help goes a long way. By enabling opportunities for economic growth, Village Enterprise has begun a long-standing economic boost for many people in East Africa. With expansion across the continent, it can continue towards its mission of ending global poverty.

– Kiana Powers
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Haiti’s Need for Mental Health Services Heightened During COVID-19

mental health in haitiLocated on the island of Hispaniola is the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The country gained independence in 1804, becoming the first country led by formerly enslaved peoples. A long history of political instability and corruption accompanied by catastrophic natural disasters has devastated Haiti’s population and economy. Additionally, a lack of infrastructure and access to basic resources ranks Haiti as one of the world’s least developed countries. This has created a crisis for mental health in Haiti, which has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti

Haiti is now home to over 11.4 million people, and nearly 60% of the population lives below the poverty line. Income inequality and unemployment rates are high, while the country does not meet its citizens’ basic needs. In fact, nearly 90% of people in rural areas lack access to electricity and plumbing.

Several natural disasters have also damaged Haiti in the past decade. The 7.0-magnitude earthquake of January 2010 devastated the nation’s capital city of Port-au-Prince. Indeed, the earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters to strike an urban area. An estimated 250,000 people died, while 300,000 people got injured and over 5 million became displaced. Six years later, Hurricane Matthew wiped out trade roads and coastal infrastructure. Conversely, lengthy periods of drought have paralyzed local agricultural markets. This has resulted in the inflation of even the most basic foods and necessities.

Though Haiti has focused on efforts to recover from natural disasters, longstanding economic and sociopolitical crises remain. One often overlooked problem lies in how these humanitarian crises affect mental health in Haiti.

Mental Health in Haiti: Existing Services

The ongoing humanitarian crises in Haiti create an extraordinary psychological toll on people. In particular, poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage increase the crisis of mental health in Haiti. Following the earthquake, 25% of the population reported experiencing PTSD. Additionally, 50% experienced a major depressive disorder. Disasters have also caused many Haitians to experience trauma and the loss of loved ones and livelihoods.

Despite these negative psychological outcomes, mental health in Haiti remains neglected. This is largely due to the majority of Haitians attributing mental health problems to supernatural forces. Specifically, many Haitians rely on inner religious and spiritual strength to overcome mental health issues. This culturally important Haitian belief, in tandem with the country’s inadequate mental healthcare services, leaves vast numbers of the population neglected.

Many people in Haiti simply go without mental healthcare. For a nation of around 11 million people, Haiti has a mere 23 psychiatrists and 124 psychologists. Haiti’s investment in healthcare services has even declined from 16.6% to 4.4% since 2017. Additionally, even if Haitians could find mental health services, they may not be able to afford or access them. Available services are often costly and inaccessible for those who do seek care.

The Implications of COVID-19

During the pandemic, Haiti has seen a rise in the cost of mental health services and medication. The country’s two running psychiatric hospitals have stopped accepting patients. Other hospitals, many now at full capacity due to the pandemic, have become testing facilities for COVID-19.

The pandemic has further exacerbated mental health in Haiti. General anxiety and concerns relating to the coronavirus and its effects have skyrocketed. Additionally, quarantine mandates have increased rates of domestic violence and abuse. Fatigued health professionals and medical staff also suffer from increased rates of depression. In short, medical professionals as well as the general population are experiencing the devastating mental impacts of COVID-19.

Moving Forward

Humanitarian crises and the coronavirus pandemic persist in the small island nation of Haiti. The aftermath of natural disasters, trauma and continuing political and economic instability lead to a crisis of mental health in Haiti. The country needs attention to the mental health needs of its citizens, in the midst of current and past crises.

Thankfully, nonprofit organizations like Partners in Health are striving to improve mental health in Haiti. Based out of Boston, Partners in Health is dedicated to establishing long-term relationships with organizations in the world’s poorest developing countries. Through its partnerships with local governments and other organizations in Haiti, Partners in Health has helped to innovate mental healthcare delivery models that integrate cultural beliefs about health and current biopsychosocial knowledge. Mobile health clinics also help ensure ensure that patients living in even the most remote regions of Haiti have access to necessary mental health services.

In the years to come, continued funding and support of programs like Partners in Health and its partnership organizations will be vital to improving the mental health and overall well-being of Haitians. Only then can the country truly overcome its current crises and past history.

– Alana Castle
Photo: Flickr 

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Overpopulation in Rwanda

Overpopulation in Rwanda
Rwanda is a small, highly populated, mostly rural country in Central Africa. Within the past few decades, the rate of population growth has grown to unsustainable and potentially dangerous levels. For instance, a woman in Rwanda has an average of 5.4 children and the country is on pace to double its already large population in just 24 years. As a small rural country, limited amounts of resources exist to support the overpopulation in Rwanda. This exponential increase will inevitably lead to problems with resource management.

Increased Access to Healthcare

Increased access to reliable healthcare in the country has certainly, in part, contributed to overpopulation in Rwanda. An ever-expanding amount of children survive into adulthood due to 82% of the country being vaccinated against deadly diseases. This may seem like a purely positive fact at first glance. However, as more children survive, the population grows and generates other problems. Third world countries, such as Rwanda, have limited access to adequate food and water supplies. The more people there are, the fewer resources there are available to each person. Moreover, the growing population has a direct link to more people suffering from malnutrition and starvation.

Geography and Resources

Rwanda is 10,000 square miles with a population density of more than 1,000 people per square mile. The immense overcrowding and strain on limited resources lead to stifled agricultural growth within the country. The farmland supports the population to the best of its ability, but there is very limited space for new fields for crops. The population explosion stagnates food production. Quality of life depends on adequate food access and overpopulation blocks that. Rapid population growth must stop to save the quality of life from deteriorating at an alarming pace in Rwanda. Two things they could look into are investing in family planning and education.

Family Planning and Education

Family planning helps reduce family sizes by providing different forms of birth control to eliminate unplanned births. Making family planning more accessible to all people should help reduce overpopulation in Rwanda.

The Belgian Development Cooperation is an NGO working in Rwanda to help limit the birth rate and population. They strongly believe that access to family planning, birth control and contraceptives is a human right. They are donating 26.7 million pounds to the Rwandan government to try and make family planning available to all of the people of Rwanda.

Education is also important in curbing rapid population growth. Investing in education is important because people with an education, especially women, generally tend to have fewer children.

Looking Forward

Something needs to be done in Rwanda to help stop the birth rate from increasing. Investing in methods to lessen birth rates, such as birth control and education, could have major influences. Working on being able to sustain an ever-increasing population is also a priority. Overpopulation is not just a problem in Rwanda; it is a global issue. Rwanda as well as the entire world should work to decrease birth rates. To sustain an acceptable standard of living, the world needs to take action before it is too late.

– Samira Akbary
Photo: Flickr

Poverty and Natural Resources in Equatorial Guinea

natural resources in equatorial guineaEquatorial Guinea, which lies on the central west coast of Africa, has seemingly abundant resources. Natural resources in Equatorial Guinea range from its tropical climate and arable land to its minerals and labor. However, widespread socioeconomic development spurred by its discovery of petroleum in the 1990s hindered the country’s progress. It has led to issues including political corruption, resource misuse and human rights abuses. As such, natural resources in Equatorial Guinea affect poverty in the country.

The History of Natural Resources in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea declared independence from Spain in October 1968. However, the regime of post-independence president Francisco Macias Nguema saw declines in quality, maintenance and labor. As a result, previously booming industries of cocoa and coffee exports almost completely disappeared. After Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo overthrew Nguema in 1979, Equatorial Guinea seemed to be moving toward economic revitalization. In the 1980s, the country joined the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa and replaced its currency with one linked to the French franc. However, it was not until the discovery of offshore petroleum and natural gas reserves in 1996 that its GDP skyrocketed.

The IMF estimated that oil production increased from 17,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 1996 to its peak at 280,000 b/d in 2004 before beginning to steadily decline. Real GDP grew by 150% in 1997. Equatorial Guinea remains the third-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Along with GDP growth, Equatorial Guinea became a trading partner with China, Portugal, India, the U.S. and Spain. This accounted for an increase in government revenue, and the country’s per capita income became the highest in Africa. Natural resources in Equatorial Guinea created this economic transformation. However, today about two-thirds of the population still lives in extreme poverty.

Why the Poverty Level Hasn’t Decreased

Despite the wealth of natural resources in Equatorial Guinea, poverty remains an issue. Human rights abuses and corruption during the Obiang’s regime have raised criticism internationally. As of 2015, only half of citizens in Equatorial Guinea have access to clean water. Newborn immunization rates for polio and measles are among the lowest in the world. Also, government expenditures on health and education are merely 2% to 3% of the total budget. In 2018, the United Nations designated the country 144 out of 189 on its Human Development Index. This measures dimensions including life expectancy, education access and standard of living.

Corruption contributes to poverty in the country. Although Equatorial Guinea has held multi-party elections since 1993, Obiang won his fifth presidential term in 2016 with 94% of the vote. His party also occupies every parliamentary seat. Furthermore, about 80% of the government’s revenue from oil went toward spending sprees on public infrastructure. Construction contracts, however, went to companies partially owned by government officials, including Obiang. Obiang’s son further compounded evidence suggesting government corruption by provoking money-laundering investigations with overseas spending. Thus, the wealth resulting from natural resources in Equatorial Guinea goes not to the people but to the government.

An Unsustainable Future

Many natural resources in Equatorial Guinea also face misuse and exploitation. For example, timber is one of Equatorial Guinea’s most abundant agricultural resources and its main export after oil. The IMF, however, indicated an unsustainable level of timber production in 2001. This resource composed most of the non-oil GDP that grew by 21% in 1999. Environmental damage in the Bioko region, where most of the timber grows, also supports claims of unsustainable exploitation. Despite this boom in timber, the country has mineral deposits that remain untouched due to a lack of extraction and refining equipment. This gold, titanium, manganese, iron ore and uranium could provide balance to the country’s resource exports with the right material.

Furthermore, the 2014 international drop in oil prices reversed GDP growth and caused a recession in Equatorial Guinea. Experts predict that its oil will also run out by 2035. This emphasizes the need for reform and sustainable sources of revenue from natural resources in Equatorial Guinea.

Partnering with the IMF

Recently, Equatorial Guinea partnered with the IMF to recover its economy by promoting sustainable, inclusive growth. The  $283 million program focuses on anti-corruption efforts and economic diversification. This will help monitor public finances, increase social spending and improve governance.

While this partnership with the IMF indicates progress, reform needs to be more widespread and supported internationally. The State Department names U.S. corporations ExxonMobile, Marathon Oil and Noble Energy as among the largest investors in Equatorial Guinea. These corporations and other international entities can use their influential positions to support economic reforms to sustain the country’s resources. They can also support political and social reforms to improve living conditions.

By investing more oil revenue into social programs, legitimate infrastructure projects and the agricultural sector, Equatorial Guinea could build a stable economic future and better living conditions for its citizens. Policy reform like this would also decrease poverty and preserve natural resources in Equatorial Guinea. This way, the country’s natural wealth will exist for generations to come.

– Isabel Serrano
Photo: Flickr

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