Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Peace in Palestine: The Effect of Annexation on Education

peace in palestine
The current issue between Israel and Palestine is a critical conflict as Palestinians face possible annexation from regions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, affecting 2.1 to 3 million Palestinians. The political strife has been off and on for approximately 100 years as the possibility of annexation becomes a reality. However, the questions of education, healthcare and human rights become prevalent when considering Palestine and its people. Here’s what you need to know about the problem with peace in Palestine.

The Conflict

Palestine and Isreal’s conflict of political power stems from the want for the same land and the power over it. With Isreal already in control of 60% of the West Bank and looking to control upwards of 30% more, Palestinians are worried about their homes and lives as they could force individuals to leave as a result. For many Palestinians, the overall result of the annex is hard to determine, but United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights leader Michelle Bachelet states, “shockwaves of the annexation will last for decades.” As annexation is illegal in terms of international law and is a violation of human rights, the result of backlash is expected.

In 2019, Isreal destroyed hundreds of properties in the West Bank for a lack of approved permits, many of which were owned by Palestinians who had built homes without proper licenses. Although they’ve built homes without authorization, Palestinians may only get construction approved by the Israelis. More often than not, they are denied.

The destruction of these areas can be detrimental to many individuals and any future of peace in Palestine. Palestinian refugees are offered services from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to cater to basic needs such as education, healthcare, shelter and more. The agency defines Palestinian refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.”

Impact on Education

As a result of violence, many are concerned about the safety of children, educational systems and peace in Palestine. Threats of destruction complicate the route to school as students or teachers may be stopped at security checkpoints, and past violence has occurred by Israeli forces. An estimated 19,000 children were involved in the 111 different educational inference cases in the West Bank documented by the UN in 2018.

In 2018, the UNRWA endured a sizeable financial burden as a result of the American government’s decision to decrease the budget for that year. This was the most significant budget cut in history for the agency, resulting in a loss of $300 million for the year. For many, school is supposed to represent a safe and comfortable environment. As a result of the new budget, children and families worried they would not be able to return to school. This led to the UNRWA launching the Dignity is Priceless campaign, a global fundraising campaign advocating for student’s educational and health needs. The campaign’s purpose was to ensure that there would be enough funding and support to reopen the doors. It led the way for other organizations to support education funding.

Campaigns for Aid

Many organizations are standing in support of peace in Palestine, looking to help during this significant humanitarian crisis. UNICEF is working to make an impact in these communities that now lack necessities like drinking water and unsafe access to education. UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children 2020 has accepted $13.7 million in funding, improving access to water for over 30,000 persons and providing water tanks to over 4,100 households. By the end of 2019, they continued to support Palestine’s education system assessing that 6,200 children safely accessed school, and 90,000 students could participate in summer activities.

For many children in Palestine, education is a want, not a given opportunity. The Rights to Education (Right2Edu) campaign strives to bring awareness to the importance of education for Palestinian children and to the hardship’s educational systems face. At the same time, there is a struggle for peace in Palestine. Right2Edu began assisting students and faculty who would be subjected to arrests of the Israeli troops and provides legal assistance to those who may have experienced an educational interference on their way to or from school. The Rights to Education’s primary mission is to pursue the human right of education for all.

The struggle for peace between the two states continues to be an uphill battle. With an emphasis on the future of children in Palestine, 3 campaigns from NGOs show their support through campaigns and field visits to continue to provide supplies and hope for those in Palestine.

– Allison Lloyd
Photo: Flickr

Disability and Poverty in Madagascar

Disability and Poverty in Madagascar
In 2014, Madagascar partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) to implement the Disability Action Plan. While there are no specifics on the number of disabled persons in Madagascar, an article in the Journal of Rehabilitation Methods estimates that about 2.8 million persons with disabilities exist in the country. The goals of the Action Plan are to increase access for persons with disabilities to health care services and programs, extend support services and rehabilitation and strengthen data collection on disability so it can be compared internationally. Organizations such as Humanity and Inclusion have also been working to improve the correlation between disability and poverty in Madagascar.

Access to Rehabilitation

The regions around Madagascar have about 1.6 physicians for every 10,000 people, whereas Madagascar has about 1. Eight rehabilitation specialists received training through “A Rehabilitation Training Partnership in Madagascar” in 2015, contributing to the now 10 total specialists in the country. This means limited access to medical professionals trained in rehabilitation for persons with disabilities.

Rehabilitation for people with disabilities can span from fitting them with orthopedic limbs and hearing aids to providing people with mental disabilities education on how their disability affects them as well as how to work with it in their daily lives. Sufficient rehabilitation for persons with disabilities was low in 2011, with The World Health Organization reporting that about 3% of people received it globally. People often view disability and poverty in Madagascar, and globally, as a cycle. A 2017 study called “Poverty and disability in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review” reported that poverty and disability appear to exist in a cycle in lower and middle-income areas, where poverty can lead to disability and disability can lead to poverty.

How Disability Impacts Poverty

According to “A Survey of World Bank poverty Assessments” by Jeanine Braithwaite and Daniel Mont, when receiving the same income as persons without disabilities, persons with disabilities will have a lower standard of living. This is due to the different needs of persons with disabilities. Braithwaite and Mont’s studies into disability in developing countries revealed that households with persons with disabilities were slightly more likely to be in poverty.

How Poverty Impacts Disability

Poverty has limited access to health care in Madagascar. About 75% of Madagascar’s population lives below the international poverty line, according to The World Bank. The cost of health care, and transportation to health care centers, can be barriers for people in poverty to accessing treatment. USAID reported that less than 40% of Madagascar’s population lives within an hour’s walk, or 5 kilometers, from a health care center, meaning many people face additional transportation costs when they need to access health care.

A study about the barriers to implementing the Disability Action Plan in Madagascar stated that of “disability-adjusted life” in 2004, non-communicable diseases caused 29%. The report concluded that the data correlates with limited access to treatment, revealing a link between disability and poverty in Madagascar through the way that poverty impacts health care access.

Solutions

Madagascar has previously passed the Law on Disability, which promoted the freedoms and equal rights of persons with disabilities. The National Decade of Disabled Persons, a time frame in which the government would work to improve conditions for those with disabilities, was ratified in Madagascar in 2002 and ran from 2003 to 2013. Since passing those pieces of legislation, Madagascar has been working to implement The World Health Organization’s global Disability Action Plan since 2014. Expectations have determined that it will wrap up in 2021.

The country has already made some strides toward completing the program and impacting disability and poverty in Madagascar. In 2015, Madagascar ran a workshop and training program in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which the Rehabilitation Medicine in Madagascar and a counterpart in the United Kingdom then delivered. This workshop trained and licensed eight new doctors. The doctors have now created the Association of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine of Madagascar (AMPRMada), which has created a database for Madagascar rehabilitation centers to use. Today, according to an AMPRMada report, its database greatly helps rehabilitation planning nationally because it provides a single place to access all the rehabilitation centers’ data.

Humanity and Inclusion have also been working to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Madagascar. The organization has been in Madagascar for 30 years. One of its ongoing projects focuses on ensuring persons with disabilities have access to adequate rehabilitation by:

  • Examining barriers to accessing rehabilitation services
  • Assessing the related economic areas
  • Setting up and improving rehabilitation services and “orthopedic fitting,” which means ensuring things like prosthetic limbs and metal braces fit patients correctly
  • Looking into increasing “education, training, and networking” in order to increase the number of rehabilitation workers
  • Improving funding for rehabilitation services
  • Keeping track of how the “National Rehabilitation Plan” progresses
  • Raising awareness

A report that details the progress of ongoing Humanity and Inclusion projects estimated that, when it is completed, its rehabilitation project will benefit 5,000 people, 47% of whom are children with disabilities.

Looking Ahead

It can sometimes be hard to calculate the effects of disability in Madagascar due to a lack of data. Research studies have, however, been able to estimate the number of disabled persons and the link between disability and poverty in Madagascar. Through the country’s legislation and partnerships with outside organizations, such as the World Health Organization, Madagascar is continuing to address and attempt to improve access to health care and rehabilitation for persons with disabilities. Organizations like Humanity and Inclusion have been contributing to those changes with ongoing projects that address access to rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities.

– Melody Kazel
Photo: Flickr

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A Nonprofit to Know: The Work of Global Pearls

The Work of Global Pearls
Global Pearls, a nonprofit organization that emerged in 2016, aims to tackle the root causes of poverty in some of the world’s most marginalized communities. With projects spanning across Latin America, Africa and Asia, Global Pearls addresses issues such as inaccessibility to education, income inequality and violence prevention in developing countries. With 100% of every dollar donated going directly to programs, each project maximizes the positive impact it makes toward helping the world’s poor. Keep reading to learn more about the work of Global Pearls.

The Mission

Global Pearls seeks to reduce “suffering among marginalized populations in developing countries by empowering changemakers from within.” To empower such changemakers, Global Pearls supports and funds leaders in developing communities ready to tackle issues and bring about positive change.

Lack of Access to Education in Guatemala

In a country like Guatemala, where the poor are unable to access essential healthcare services, many children are abandoned or left on the streets. With more than 58% of Guatemalan children aged 7-14 working in the agriculture industry, many do not have access to funds for schooling, books and uniforms.

As a result, 18.5% of the population aged over 15 are unable to read or write. Children living on the street in Guatemala are also at a higher risk of engaging in physical violence to survive due to poverty, abuse and social exclusion.

Global Pearls Creates Change

Recognizing that over 10% of children ages 7-14 are unable to receive an education, the work of Global Pearls has extended to helping Sandra Alonzo Pac establish an educational scholarship program for children in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala called Estudia Con Amor. The program supports children who need additional funding from middle school through university. Street children involved in the program are also receiving help with clothing, food and medical costs. Because families living below the poverty line are more likely to keep their children out of school, children without education have a higher chance of living in poverty. Programs like Estudia Con Amor are essential in ending the cycle of poverty for struggling individuals.

Maria, a participant in the Estudia Con Amor scholarship program, discussed how she was unable to attend school with her mom working multiple jobs daily to support the family. She described her sadness when she saw the other children in the village walking to school with their backpacks, wishing that she could be one of them. With the help of the Estudia Con Amor Scholarship through Global Pearls, she began her studies, hoping to one day become a doctor.

Income Inequality in Honduras

Like Guatemala, attending traditional schools in Honduras is very difficult for children who travel long distances on foot to school. With Honduras holding the third-highest illiteracy rate in Central America due to income inequality, youth struggles to afford school and find job opportunities.

How Community Leaders in Honduras are Helping

Due to the cost of $100 a year to supply students with the textbooks and supplies they need for schooling, many poor students are unable to attend. With the help of Global Pearls, Sor Marta established a high school scholarship program for children who want to continue their education but cannot afford the cost.

Global Pearls Founder, Lisa Spader, embraces the idea that “you are capable of making your community better; you don’t need other people to make your community better.” Because of this, Spader urges the program participants to dream about what they want their future to look like and how that dream can become a reality with hard work and the right resources.

John, a 14-year old boy in the Honduras program, talked about how the Caja rural project has impacted his life: “I will not forget the day you arrived […] It was a rainy evening, and I was trembling with cold, but you hugged me, and I felt warmer. In that conversation, the idea of the Caja rural project became real […] Soon, I began leading my colleagues. This project has made a mark on my life in ways I could never have imagined […] You helped me find my life purpose. […] I know that starting a project changes the lives of those who start them. I know because I’m a living example.”

As a result of the program, John began the Caja rural project, which lends money to people to invest in microenterprises. He is now an active supporter in assisting others in finding their ways to better their community.

Prevalence of Violence in Honduras

People know gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 in Honduras for utilizing violence and threats to establish authority. As a result, Honduras is one of the world’s most violent places, with an average of 13 people murdered each day. With limited opportunity for youth, many young Hondurans resort to gang participation to protect welfare and identity.

Giving Resources to Youth

Recognizing the prevalence of this issue, community leader, Jeremias Vobada, who grew up in an orphanage on the outskirts of San Pedro Sula, founded a soccer program for over 100 youth with Global Pearls. The program helps to give them a safe space to grow and develop. He has also partnered with a local contractor to provide children interested in the electrical field the experience and skills necessary to construct solar panels. This necessary resource allows electricity to run in remote communities.

Looking Forward

In a continually evolving world, it is more important than ever to address pressing issues that face marginalized communities. Global Pearls recognizes empowered leaders who have a passion for changing their community but do not receive marketing worldwide. By funding and engaging in projects with these leaders, more children can attend school and make their future dreams a reality.

To learn more about the impactful work of Global Pearls and its projects, click here: https://globalpearls.org/.

– Erica Fealtman
Photo: Flickr

5 Beauty Brands Addressing Global Poverty

Brands Addressing Global Poverty
Cosmetics is a booming industry, with an estimated value of $532 billion, it continues to grow. However, for a long time, many beauty brands have been associated with unconscionable practices as a means to drive profits and sales — such as the use of child labor and unethical sourcing of materials. However, brands addressing global poverty may have an impact not only on worldwide poverty but also on themselves.

Business Structure & Social Impact

In a joint study by The Donor Committee for Enterprise Development and Oxfam, researchers concluded that “business structure can influence the social impact of a company…,” meaning that how a business is operated, keeping the supply chain in mind, can have either positive or negative effects on the social environment that the business engages with.

Inclusive businesses aim to incorporate impoverished people into the supply chain — as suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and customers which encourages economic growth. For a beauty brand addressing global poverty, working with an inclusive business model in mind and working towards more ethical and sustainable practices in the industry — are crucial steps in uplifting and collaborating with emerging markets. Here are five beauty brands addressing global poverty, today.

5 Beauty Brands Addressing Global Poverty

  1. Human Nature: A beauty brand based in the Philippines with compassion at its core. Human Nature creates products with raw materials from community-based suppliers. Working with fair trade principles in mind, the brand ensures that it pays appropriate (sometimes above-market) prices for suppliers’ goods. Human Nature also pays its employees fair living wages to combat poverty in the region.
  2. The Body Shop: The Body Shop believes that business can be a force for good with the motto “Enrich Not Exploit.” The brand engages in ethical trade practices, where retailers and suppliers are accountable for the conditions of their workers. Part of The Body Shop’s global commitment is to help economically, vulnerable people find work. The brand also pledges to invest 250,000 hours of skill-building in the communities where it operates.
  3. L’Occitane: L’Occitane is an eco-friendly, beauty brand addressing global poverty through its philanthropic efforts. The brand maintains a key partnership with women in Burkina Faso who produce shea butter for certain products. L’Occitane provides literacy programs, business training and microcredit opportunities to support women’s leadership and economic empowerment. Since 2006, more than 26,000 women have benefited from the brand’s support.
  4. Karité: Founded by three sisters from Ghana — Karité specializes in ethically sourced shea butter, palm oil and coconut oil from Ghana. Manufacturing is located in New Jersey. This international partnership works with women-run, co-ops supporting economic activity in both Ghana and the U.S. The brand has developed various projects (e.g., the Shea for Soles Initiative) that benefit Ghanan communities. Karité observed the needs of the women who work on the co-ops, noticing that many only wore flip-flops. Subsequently, the brand launched a campaign to provide shoes to the workers.
  5. Conscious Coconut: Conscious Coconut is another international, beauty brand addressing poverty through its fair trade and sustainable sourcing practices. Working globally — growers and workers are paid fair wages, ensuring that employees in poor communities can meet their basic needs. Conscious Coconut advocates against the use of child labor and human rights abuse. Moreover, the brand cultivates close relationships with its suppliers to make certain that they have dignified working conditions. Packaging for the company occurs in Florida at the MacDonald Training Center — which gives work opportunities to adults with disabilities.

An Admirable Business Model

While not all brands follow the same principles that guide these five previously mentioned — each additional brand that joins the cause represents progress. As the world becomes more connected, the global economy plays an increasingly significant role in fighting global poverty. Brands like the five mentioned here are taking an admirable, active role in addressing their business objectives and global poverty, simultaneously.

– Melanie McCrackin
Photo: Pixabay

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Barter for Better Fiji: Community Response to COVID-19

barter for better fiji
On the beautiful island of Fiji, a staggering 40% of the country’s GDP comes from the tourism industry. Therefore, when COVID-19 hit the island (and the rest of the world), many people found themselves out of a job. However, the local population found a solution. In the middle of a pandemic, Marlene Dutta set up a Facebook page called Barter for Better Fiji to allow for Fijians to procure essential items without causing undue financial stress.

While bartering has always been a part of Fiji’s economy, this Facebook page is notable for its scope. The page has already amassed over 180,000 members as of August 2020. Considering the island has a total population of 900,000 people, that means this 180,000 figure represents 20% of the country’s entire population engaged in this bartering process.

Poverty in Fiji

Bartering is becoming more prevalent in Fiji due to the increase in unemployment as a result of the new coronavirus. Almost 5% of the country’s population has lost their job due to the lack of tourism and that is in addition to 28.1% of the country living below the national poverty line. Fijians also suffer from malnourishment and at one point in the early 2000s, 40% of children suffered from childhood hunger.

Much of the poverty in Fiji can be attributed to the political instability in the country, but not all of it. The military coup in 1987 was the start of these conflicts and the turmoil has only increased Fiji’s poverty level. However, politics are not completely to blame because there is also drastic housing inequality; an estimated 140,000 people live in “substandard housing conditions.” All of these factors have contributed to Fiji’s current poverty levels and the pandemic has only made matters worse.

Bartering in Fiji

The Barter for Better Fiji Facebook page has many purposes. It helps the people in Fiji deliver essential resources to each other when finances are scarce. It is a form of mutual aid, which is essentially community members helping each other for a mutual benefit. Interestingly, this type of aid has come into the mainstream across the world, during the pandemic. Most importantly, for some people — this aid can be life-saving.

Fijians barter essential resources as well as everyday goods and services. People trade fresh produce for cleaning services or animals for transportation. Some people started bartering for fun and now help their friends and neighbors by donating items for bartering. As a whole, the bartering economy has allowed Fijians to take care of one another and provide for themselves and their families during a pandemic.

Uniting a Community

The best part about the Facebook group is how it has engaged the community. The founder of the group has been amazed at the good faith and compassion she has seen among the people of Fiji. She posits that it promotes an economy of kindness — one where people take a moment to help out their neighbors, even if they have never before spoken. As Fiji has shown, when life is centered around a caring community, there is a mutual benefit that permeates society.

– Hannah Daniel
Photo: Flickr

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U2’s Charity Work: Global Relief

U2’s Charity Work
Throughout its career, the band U2 has played for tens of thousands of people and gained millions of fans worldwide. The band’s influence, however, has gone beyond its music, as it has impacted millions of people with its charity work. Various members have done both individual charity work as well as work through the band. The band members’ collaborative efforts include poverty relief, disaster relief and health and human rights work. This article will highlight a few important instances of U2’s charity work.

Bono’s Work With ONE & RED

ONE is a campaign that Bono, U2’s lead singer and other activists co-founded. The campaign’s aim is to fight extreme poverty and preventable diseases. In order to achieve this goal, Bono has personally met with heads of state and lobbied governments to pass legislation. Grassroots efforts and ONE’s lobbying for legislation have saved millions of lives over the last 10 years through newly funded government policies. Bono also co-founded RED, an organization that raises awareness and funds to help fight the AIDS crisis. RED has raised $600 million to date, which primarily goes toward AIDS treatment and prevention in Africa.

Disaster Relief Concerts

Throughout U2’s existence, it has played numerous concerts and events to raise money for various disaster relief benefits. In 1984, Bono and U2 bassist Adam Clayton performed at Band Aid, and in 1985, U2 performed at Live Aid. Both events raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The next year, in 1986, the band participated in A Conspiracy of Hope tour on behalf of Amnesty International, an organization that focuses on protecting human rights around the world. That same year, it also performed for Self Aid, which helped the homeless in Ireland. On the 20th anniversary of Live Aid, U2 played the Live 8 concert in London. This concert supported the Make Poverty History campaign.

Other Assorted Charity Work

Beyond Bono’s work with ONE and RED and the band’s charity concerts, U2 has participated in other charitable work. For instance, Bono teamed up with Muhammad Ali in 2000 for Jubilee 2000, which called for the cancelation of third world debt. Bono also founded the organization DATA, which aims to improve the political, financial and social state of those living in Africa. Bono has visited Africa on numerous occasions in an attempt to raise funds and awareness for AIDS relief. Additionally, the band donated all of the proceeds from the release of its song “Sweetest Thing” to Chernobyl Children International, which works to give those the 1986 Cherynobl accident affected medical and economic help. Most recently, U2 donated €10 million for personal protective equipment for healthcare workers on the frontline fighting COVID-19.

U2 has impacted millions of people around the world, not just with its music, but with its charity as well. U2’s charity work has helped millions of people around the world. In particular, Bono’s work with ONE and RED has helped fight against poverty and the AIDS epidemic. The band has also worked together, using its music directly by playing a variety of concerts to raise money for important causes. Even as the world grapples with the devastating effects of COVID-19, U2 has continued providing people in need with generous humanitarian aid.

– Zachary Laird
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Hunger in Kazakhstan: Past, Present and Future

hunger in kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has made great strides in reducing hunger within its borders. Once vulnerable to famine, the country has demonstrated significant progress in increasing its agricultural productivity and curbing food shortages within the past two decades. However, despite notable improvements to food insecurity and malnutrition levels, Kazakhstan remains steady in its efforts to reduce persistent risk factors. In the coming years, the nation hopes to achieve food self-sufficiency by maximizing the use of state programs and international aid. 

The Past: Devastating Famines

Despite its relative stability today, Kazakhstan has historically been vulnerable to famine. Between 1920 and 1939, more than 8.5 million Kazakhs starved to death as a result of Soviet-induced famines. Asharshylyk, one of the most devastating famines in Kazakh history, directly contributed to the eradication of over a third of the country’s population in the early 1930s – a crisis perpetuated not only by climate change but also by the forced collectivization of previously nomadic Kazakhs under Soviet rule. 

Agricultural collectivization had particularly debilitating effects on Kazakhstan’s overall food security. During the famine, approximately 90% of the nation’s herds perished as a result of the Kazakh people selling or slaughtering their livestock in order to meet grain quotas set by the Soviet regime. This rapid depletion of livestock – namely, cattle – resulted in significant income loss and widespread starvation amongst nomadic herders. Amongst escalating violence and competition for food, several communities were reported to have turned to extreme methods of survival such as cannibalism to avoid succumbing to hunger. 

Ethnic Kazakhs disproportionately suffered the highest percentage of deaths of any group at the time, estimated to be as high as 42% of their total population. Many fled the country to seek relief in surrounding countries such as China and Turkmenistan. As a result, ethnic Kazakhs were a minority within their own country for decades up until the Soviet collapse in 1991. 

Hunger Today: A Stark Improvement

Significant progress has been made within the past century to reduce food insecurity in Kazakhstan, primarily through the country’s expansion of its oil sector. Over the span of 30 years, Kazakhstan has increased its oil production by nearly 3.8 times its pre-independence levels, reaching an annual output of 84.2 million tons. As such, oil has provided most of the country’s export earnings, playing an instrumental role in driving productivity and development. 

Rapid and sustained economic growth has thus allowed hunger in Kazakhstan to decline below rates of global concern. According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Kazakhstan has successfully achieved a low level of hunger. Less than 2.5% of the total population is undernourished, and the country’s vulnerability to food security based on its food sector capabilities is lower than the world average, standing at a score of 0.42 as of 2022. Composed today of an upper middle income population and a wealth of domestically produced crops, the country instead focuses on supplying the world with the means to combat food insecurity and malnutrition.

Looking Forward: More Solutions

Moving forward, Kazakhstan intends to continue making strides toward reducing hunger both within and beyond its borders. In 2023, the Kazakh government allocated $2.5 billion to the agricultural sector for subsidies, loans and investment projects. One of these initiatives plans to introduce a unified state information system for subsidies that will be free and easily accessible for farmers. Another aims to allow farmer greenhouses to apply for subsidies in order to cover electricity, gas and coal expenses during their crop off-season. If such state programs are effectively implemented, Kazakhstan is expected to enhance its food security rate from 127% to 143%. 

Kazakhstan is predicted to become a leading producer of food surpluses by 2035. The state plans to expand to additional agricultural markets, particularly targeting China, the Middle East and Africa in an effort to double its exports by 2029. By maximizing its current state of growth and cooperation,  Kazakhstan may serve to provide the world with the resources needed to reduce global hunger, establishing the country as a paragon of success within a post-Soviet space.

– Julia Canzano, Moon Jung Kim
Photo: Pixabay

Updated: November 7, 2024

Healthcare in Grenada: Improving Coverage

Healthcare in Grenada
Located off of the coast of Venezuela, the island of Grenada is a Caribbean nation with over 110,000 citizens. Grenada gained its independence from Britain in 1974 and emerged from Marxist rule by the early 1980s. As a relatively young constitutional monarchy, Grenada has endured political strife, natural crises and extreme poverty. The consequences of such factors have left many Grenadians in challenging conditions.

Healthcare in Grenada has improved dramatically in recent years but still has a critical need for expansion. Comprehensive healthcare in Grenada, a political and humanitarian dilemma for decades, has emerged as one of the nation’s key goals. Its government and nonprofits have made progress in recent years providing care for hundreds of thousands.

Developing Goals

Healthcare funding and goals are dynamic: Grenada’s public healthcare system, overseen by its Ministry of Health, includes 36 primary care facilities, 30 satellite care facilities, three hospitals and one psychiatric hospital. Primarily funded through general taxation, healthcare in Grenada also receives support through grants from the E.U. through the Primary Health care and Caribbean Development Bank Basic Need Program (BNTF) and by The Caribbean Public Health Agency.

These government and humanitarian entities have collaborated to bolster Grenada’s preventative healthcare, laboratory diagnosing and testing capacity. In 2015, the Ministry of Health released a healthcare action plan. By 2017, the WHO pledged its support for the plan by releasing a Grenadian Cooperation Strategic Agenda for 2018-2024 with bolstered resources for the nation. Grants also target specific public health goals, such as the current objective to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Within communities, NGOs have translated much of that funding into tangible community health improvements. For example, Grenada National Organization of Women educates women about sexual and reproductive health and provides HIV prevention resources.

A Dynamic System

The public and private healthcare sectors support each other: In 2014, healthcare in Grenada made up 6.1% of the total GDP, yet 53.6% of that was from the private sector. With a total GDP of $911.5 million in 2014, roughly $55.6 million of that derived from the public healthcare sector and over half of that amount from the private sector. Based on the population of over 108,000 that year, less than 20 cents per capita was dedicated to public healthcare in Grenada in 2014.

The healthcare system in Grenada, mimicking a universal healthcare system, leverages those who can afford private sector healthcare to help keep costs low for its public expenditure, allocating 10%-12% of its total budget on healthcare between 2008 and 2014. The gaps in Grenada’s current healthcare systems leave both the wealthy without luxury services and the vulnerable without basic care. Without these gaps, the lucrative private sector could not thrive.

The Work that Remains

Health has improved but some populations remain vulnerable: a history of poor children’s health outcomes has led Grenada’s healthcare system to intervene earlier in the population. Grenada now has a relatively low infant mortality rate of 10.3 deaths per 1,000 births. It also has a 95%-100% essential vaccination coverage rate in its primary schools, with more healthcare in primary and secondary schools. Additionally, wasting rates in children dropped from 7.9% in 2011 to 3.4% by 2014.

Now, chronic and non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, have emerged as the main cause of death and morbidity in Grenada. Risk factors for these diseases include overconsumption of alcohol, poor nutrition, obesity, lack of physical activity and hypertension. In rural areas, risk factors for chronic and non-communicable diseases are more prevalent than in urban Grenada. As of 2019, upwards of 71,000 Grenadians lived in rural areas, predominantly below the poverty line.

Despite healthcare in Grenada otherwise improving, medically vulnerable rural Grenadians essentially exist outside the mainstream economy. They lack access to efficient and consistent medical treatment and consequently have worse health outcomes than their wealthier urban counterparts.

Socioeconomic factors within and medical outcomes derived from systems of healthcare in Grenada have undoubtedly improved. Still, the Grenadian government grapples with implementing a universal healthcare system. Life-saving preventative and emergency treatments remain inaccessible for the most vulnerable populations. Grenada continues to receive essential support from NGOs and humanitarian and public health organizations implement action plans. A shift in healthcare equity will alleviate the financial and medical conditions that negatively impact hundreds of thousands of Grenadians.

– Caledonia Strelow
Photo: DVIDS

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Hunger in Turkmenistan

hunger in turkmenistanThis time last year, the London-based Foreign Policy Centre reported that Turkmenistan was “a country teetering on the edge of catastrophe.” An economic crisis has exacerbated hunger in Turkmenistan. Additionally, Human Rights Watch calls Turkmenistan “an isolated and repressive country.” Without freedom of speech or information, the authoritarian government leaves no room for economic autonomy, thus resulting in hunger among citizens.

Economic Crisis and Hunger in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan sits on 9.9% of the world’s gas reserves, with 19.5 trillion cubic meters. Statistics like these attract foreign investors, which in theory should boost the nation’s economy. However, in 2019 Turkmenistan entered its worst economic crisis since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The state heavily controls the economy, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lists Turkmenistan as the “least competitive economy among the EBRDS’s countries of operations,” meaning that economic autonomy is essentially nonexistent. The Foreign Policy Centre’s report labeled Turkmenistan’s economy as a “Potemkin economy,” meaning its public record of ordinary, satisfactory GDP figures — a result of strictly regulated state companies — hides a crumbling economy.

In 2018, a video of a Turkmen student cutting up his debit card, salting it and cooking it for dinner circulated around media sites. The student, who was studying abroad in Ukraine, spoke on the matter, saying that “the [bank] cards stopped working and, as a result, I’ve lost 15 kilograms.” While the banks never released explanations, economists suggest that the debit card failures may be a result of Turkmenistan’s active black market. Officially, the exchange rate is three and a half Turkmen manats to one U.S. dollar. But the black-market rate is closer to 22 manats to one U.S. dollar. The government would lose large sums of money with students trying to withdraw from their banks in foreign countries.

The Turkmen government lacks transparency about its crop supply as well; in 2018, Deputy Chairman Esenmyrat Orazgeldiev released data stating that Turkmenistan had overshot its yearly harvest goal, and had harvested 1.099 million tons of cotton. However, reports from the Agriculture and Water Resources Ministry and the International Cotton Advisory Committee said that the country had harvested between 300 and 450 thousand tons. A similar inconsistency in reports occurred for the wheat harvest. These economic and agricultural struggles have led to widespread hunger in Turkmenistan, particularly in the form of major food shortages across the country.

Food Shortages

For the past three years, hunger in Turkmenistan has resulted from dire food shortages. The Diplomat conducted an interview with Turkmen “activist-in-exile” Fareed Tukhbatullin in 2018, and Tukhbatullin recalled fights breaking out among citizens waiting to purchase necessities such as bread, flour, vegetable oil and eggs, all of which are in short supply despite being government-regulated foods. Inflation and the disparity between the official manat’s value and the black-market manat’s value have made importing ingredients and farming equipment nearly impossible. In the interview, Tukhbatullin emphasized that there are no official news coverings or statistics released in Turkmenistan about this crisis, but he estimated that 60% of the population is unemployed and living with food insecurity. Last month, Turkmenistan increased its regulation of subsidized foods by enforcing the use of registration books by individual households. Families are instructed to bring their books, which have a certificate containing their address and the number of people in their household, to food stores, where their purchases will be documented.

Foreign Aid Reducing Hunger in Turkmenistan

Currently, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to stabilize Turkmenistan’s economy and strengthen its international connection around Central and South Asia. USAID also provides assistance to dairy and meat-producing livestock farmers to keep their livestock healthy, and it works to connect the farmers to local and international markets. In July 2020, USAID announced the launch of its hotline for Turkmen farmers. The hotline is accessible over email and telephone, and it offers necessary advice on the exportation of goods to foreign markets. USAID claims that this extra support will help the Turkmen farmers “maximize their revenues, stabilize seasonal sales, and expand the markets for quality Turkmen products.” USAID also worked between 2010 and 2019 to introduce Turkmenistan into the International Financial Reporting Standards, which allows the country more access to the global economy.

Turkmenistan has not known peace or stability since its independence in 1991. Inflation, food shortages and disconnect from the rest of the world have plagued the country for almost 30 years, and government officials worry that this instability will soon lead to catastrophe. Helping the citizens of a highly isolated country is extremely difficult, but organizations like USAID are doing what they can to end hunger in Turkmenistan.

— Anya Chung
Photo: Flickr

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Water Insecurity in Kosovo & COVID-19

Water Insecurity in KosovoThe World Bank has secured aid for Kosovo to help the country’s water security efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 10, 2020, the World Bank approved a budget of $27.4 million to invest in aid to address water insecurity in Kosovo. The new “Kosovo Fostering and Leveraging Opportunities for Water Security Program,” implemented nationwide, will reach struggling regions within the country, such as Morava e Binces — the driest area of all.

COVID-19 and Water Security

In a statement from the World Bank, the manager for Kosovo, Marco Mantovanelli, stated that addressing Kosovo’s water crisis is even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Access (or lack thereof) to clean water for drinking and sanitation has a direct impact on the COVID-19 crisis. The World Bank representative described clean water as an “essential barrier to preventing virus spread and protecting human health from COVID-19 and similar diseases.”

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reports that hand washing is one of the primary combatants against a disease like COVID-19. Additionally, both water management and security impact the spread of a disease like COVID-19. Without proper storage, water shortages occur and people have limited access to water for sanitation. Water management (pollution control and distribution) directly impacts the quality and quantity of water accessible  to the population. WRI reports that improving both domestic and industrial water waste treatments improves water quality and helps improve issues related to water use for sanitation and health.

Water in Kosovo

Kosovo’s water crisis is only worsened by the virus as the crisis existed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The issues of water pollution are rooted in Kosovo even from when it was a province in the former Yugoslavia. It was the most polluted province then and now, a majority of the Kosovo municipalities have no form of treatment plants for wastewater. Additionally, the World Bank reports that Kosovo has the lowest water storage level in the region — as well as high pollution levels.

The new water security plan will address some key issues in water security. These issues include management of resources, water storage, addressing natural disasters and their impacts, dam safety, updating equipment and facilities and general emergency preparedness.

The Impact on Struggling Regions in Kosovo

While the entire country will benefit from the plan, the strategy will specifically benefit the driest region in Kosovo — Morava e Binces. Morava e Binces has had significant problems with water access for its civilian population. The region has suffered greatly with water access interruptions. Some of these interruptions last hundreds of days. However, with the implementation of the new plan, the World Bank estimates 190,000 people will be positively impacted in the Morava e Binces region alone.

The World Bank’s approved aid will begin work on installing new and updated equipment, replan the water storage processes, and make additional renovations to dam maintenance and safety. This aid program is an essential step in ending water insecurity in Kosovo. While the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated an already existing, water security problem within Kosovo, government initiatives are a good, forward step.

– Kiahna Stephens
Photo: Pixabay