Archive for category: Poverty Reduction

Information and stories about poverty reduction.

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How the Government of Lithuania is Bettering the Lives of its Poor

How the Government of Lithuania is Bettering the Lives of its PoorWhen one thinks of poverty-stricken countries, the first one that comes to mind is not Lithuania. The small Baltic nation, however, has been dealing with serious poverty problems since it became independent in the early 1990s. Lithuania was, in fact, the first republic to break away from the USSR in 1990. In 2009, the economy took a turn for the worse. GDP dropped 15%, interrupting almost two decades of steady fiscal growth. Nonetheless, the recession did not fatally injure the Lithuanian economy. The resilient nation recovered quickly, enlisting the investment of foreign interests in Lithuanian enterprises while capitalizing on the strength of trade relations with Russia, Latvia, and Germany, among other countries.

Lithuania’s seemingly instantaneous recovery from the recession is amazing, especially considering the extremity of the economic downturn in the Baltic states. Her ability to exploit chief exports such as textiles, plastics, and heavy machinery has given the country the diversified type of income that facilitates longterm budgetary growth. What truly sets Lithuania apart though is the shocking rise in the minimum wage that took place last year. In 2012, the monthly minimum wage was raised almost 25% from around 850 litai ($850 US dollars) in January to 1000 litai ($372 US dollars) in December. This has significantly raised the status of the poor in Lithuania, where a measly 4% of the population is now living below the poverty line. Prior to 2009, a little over 20% of Lithuanians were on or below the poverty line, unable to meet basic daily needs.

This change illustrates the way in which a government, faced with insurmountable challenges, can institute economic policies that positively impact the well-being of the working poor. When compared to its neighbor Latvia, where the monthly salary from a minimum wage job does not fulfill minimum subsistence level requirements, Lithuania is doing significantly better. Lithuania did not allow the economic crisis to distract from the problem of the minimum wage, implementing sound laws to raise the status of the poor. In the wake of the global recession, other Baltic countries should follow the example of Lithuania and raise the minimum wage. The poor will be much better off for it.

– Josh Forgét

Sources: The Baltic Course, Bloomberg, CIA World Factbook
Photo: Flickr

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Homemade Helicopters Lift Africa out of Poverty

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A growing movement in Africa finds solo innovators experimenting with homemade flight technologies out of mere curiosity. The daring, Wright-esque pioneers involved are sourcing materials from scrapped vehicles and local junkyards to build helicopters, and even piecing their projects together with cheap gum. One would-be pilot, Gabriel Nderitu Muturi from Kenya, hopes the interest in flight will one day lift Africa out of poverty.

On the ground, individuals are making progress with their flying machines, from life-size, remote control helicopters to two-seater airplanes, but they receive no governmental support for their projects. In some cases, the government obstructs the aviation development. One man had his helicopter confiscated as a security risk and was fired from his job for pursuing the interest on the basis of media attention distracting from his work. Those continuing the fight for flight say such obstacles result in wasted talent that could help lift developing nations and their people out of poverty. The technological curiosity is apparent, but the capacity and reward system stands lacking.

Hackerspaces and fab labs have cropped up to support the solo innovators in impoverished nations, where government assistance is either minimal or nonexistent, but they are by no means commonplace. For creators of homemade airplanes these spaces are a veritable Godsend, as they offer community-based resources and the actual space to design and experiment. Without these spaces, these pioneer inventors would face many obstacles to the flight of their helicopters.

Mr. Muturi reports his use of the Internet as the most significant variable in his formula for success. He cites the web as a source of information for research and a marketplace for fabrication as it allows him to order parts from the United States. Though he completed the project on his own, he urges governments to recognize the importance of supporting interest in science and research as an indispensable resource that will pull Africa out of poverty and underdevelopment.

In light of increased fiber optic connectivity from more developed nations investing in Africa, the Internet will likely prove a valuable resource for individual and community-based projects like Mr. Muturi’s. Nonetheless, there is the problem of providing such a resource to rural communities, where e-learning depends on first establishing free digital centers, heretofore inadequately represented in such locations.

– Herman Watson

Source: BBC, Hackerspaces, CNN
Photo: BBC

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Extreme Poverty Has Been Cut in Half Since 1990

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In 1990, 43% of the world’s population subsisted on less than $1.25 per day. By 2010, that number had shrunk to 21%. This success comes 5 years before the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal of achieving such a number by 2015.

The conversation has now shifted to the remaining 21%. Optimists hope to achieve similar success by 2030. However, there are several unique obstacles to addressing that 21%, and the economic conditions that allowed such a rapid decline before are unlikely to be replicated in the coming decade.

Much of the success of the last two decades was achieved by slightly elevating the conditions of those living just below the $1.25 per day line. Pulling a person living at $1.15 per day over the $1.25 line is much easier than pulling someone living at $0.25 to over $1.25. In other words, much of the remaining 21% was the bottom half of the original 43 percent. The challenge of the next decades will be to improve the lives of the most impoverished people on Earth.

China’s growth over the past decades was instrumental in lowering the extreme poverty rate. In the twenty years, from 1981 to 2001, China pulled 680 million of its own citizens out of extreme poverty as it rapidly developed. With China’s extreme poverty rate now at low levels, the focus will now shift to new developing countries, primarily India and Africa. The challenge will be to replicate the economic conditions for such an achievement in vastly different governmental and cultural contexts.

Should such a success be achieved by 2030, however, the fight against poverty will hardly be over. The $1.25 a day figure is simply an accepted global standard of extreme poverty, and does not account for those living in poverty in developed countries. In the U.S., the poverty line sits at $30 a day–a marked difference. However, with extreme poverty levels eradicated, the world would be able to focus anew on those living just below the line.

– Andrew Rasner

Sources: The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist
Photo: The Economist,

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Poverty in Cape Verde

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Cape Verde is a small archipelago island nation in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. The country is mired in absolute poverty, with 30% of its citizens below the poverty line. The World Bank estimates that 14% of the population is living in extreme poverty. With a crisis of this magnitude, the government of Cape Verde is dependent on the receipt of international aid to maintain relative stability.

Poverty in Cape Verde is precipitated by a number of factors, but the main inhibitors of economic growth are a gross lack of a natural resources and a limited economic base. Due to repeated droughts, Cape Verde is beleaguered by water shortages and poor soil. Due to a lack of domestic agriculture, over 82% of the country’s food supply is imported. The nation’s narrow economic base stems from over dependence on tourism as the sole source of economic revenue.

The World Bank has agreed to provide significant amounts of funding to Cape Verde and has developed an economic strategy to alleviate the poor conditions there. The World Bank’s plan is four-fold, involving an improvement in the quality of education and healthcare, a diversification of the economic base (exploiting tuna fishing as an additional source of income), an improvement of the already existing infrastructure, and the institution of welfare programs for the disadvantaged.

These changes will have to be implemented from the top down in order for them to be successful. The World Bank is working with the government of Cape Verde to implement these much needed changes. This combination of economic diversification, aid, and development will most assuredly provide a way for Cape Verde to rise out of extreme poverty.

– Josh Forgét 

Sources: The World Bank, The CIA World Factbook
Photo: Cape Verde Against Poverty,

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Zambia: Poverty and Promising Signs

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Known for its stunning natural beauty and variety of wildlife, the country of Zambia draws thousands of global travelers seeking adventure and awe-inspiring views in its world-renowned state parks, along the mighty Zambezi River, and at the famous Victoria Falls, a UNESCO world heritage site.  More than half of the country’s 752,000 square kilometers is arable land, and the country is rich in natural resources, especially copper, one of its major exports. Compared to many of its neighboring countries, Zambia has also been somewhat stable politically. Zambia made relatively peaceful transition from British colonial rule in 1964, and the country has been spared the kind of serious civil war that countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo have faced in recent years.

Zambia’s natural beauty and great agricultural capacity are a stark contrast to the economic problems facing the country today, however. According to World Bank figures, an estimated 60% of the country’s 13.8 million people live below the poverty line, with most of those in Zambia’s many rural areas. Life expectancy for the average Zambian is 49 years, in part because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has ravaged the population. Just over 12% of Zambians ages 15-49 are infected with the virus, and UN figures show that about 1 million people were living with the disease in 2011.  One-third of the population is without access to clean water, and more than 25% of the country’s schools do not have access to clean water and proper sanitation.  The country is reportedly on track to meet Millennium Development Goal #2, but enrollment in primary schools is just under 72%.

Efforts to combat widespread poverty and its attendant health and social effects in Zambia have been comprehensive, involving a coalition of private and public, national and international organizations. Through USAID, the United States recently launched two new health programs aimed at addressing poverty and HIV/AIDS by empowering small farmers with new tools to make their farms viable and profitable. The programs have drawn praise from the Zambian government. Zambia is also making progress toward its Millennium Development Goals, reducing child mortality from 191 per 1,000 births in 1992, to 119 per 1,000 in 2007.  Extreme poverty in the country declined from 58% to 51% over the same period, and in 2002 the country eliminated school fees for basic education, taking an important step toward universal primary education. These indicators are promising signs that progress is indeed being made toward relieving the misery of poverty and disease in Zambia. They also suggest, however, that there is much more work to be done. 

– Délice Williams

Source: Lonely Planet, UNAIDs, UNICEF, World Bank
Photo: Presentation Primary Terenure

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Poverty in Chad

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Poverty in Chad? Surprisingly for an oil-producing nation, Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. After gaining its independence from France, Chad struggled to find its footing. Mismanagement, corruption, conflict and a harsh climate did the country no favors, and Chad has consistently remained one of the poorest countries in Africa.

Over half of Chad’s population lives in poverty; this is partly a result of the harsh geographical conditions. The majority of Chad is covered by desert and for a developing country that depends largely on subsistence farming, this presents a significant challenge. The most successful practice is migratory farming, where herds can move and adapt to changing climate conditions, but even these are severely limited by resources. As well, droughts in the 1970s and 80s aggravated already sub-optimal conditions. Recently, changes in climate have brought lower rainfalls and consistent overuse has led to soil erosion and land degradation. Farmers lack infrastructure, support and resources needed to grow sufficient food.

Geographic isolation, a lack of cultural cohesion and lack of education are all contributors to the problem. Spread out among a huge amount of land, Chad’s citizens are separated by large swaths of land, making it difficult to distribute necessary resources. Most people do not speak either of the country’s official languages (Arabic and French) and 90% of the country is illiterate.

Gender discrimination is also rife in Chad, though women are an essential part of a family’s survival. They are given work outside the home as well as the responsibility of raising a family, tending farms, gathering water, raising children and cooking. Yet they are culturally limited from access to education or training, and marginalized by society. These women are especially vulnerable to the psychological as well as physical effects of poverty.

Chad’s reality is brutal; a large percentage of the population is undernourished and lacks access to education, as well as high levels of food insecurity and infant mortality. Chad is not set to meet the MDGs as a result of poor management and weak planning and implementation.

Chad’s story is not a pretty one, but an important one. It is a reminder of the harsh reality that is daily life in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the amount of work that remains to be done in the region.

– Farahnaz Mohammed

Source: Rural Poverty Portal, World Bank
Photo: Charity in Chad

Challenges for Ecuador’s Mining Industry

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ZARUMA, Ecuador — Gold has been mined in the city of Zaruma in southern Ecuador for over 500 years. The area has suffered a complicated history of extraction and exploitation, and now stands as a prime example of the challenges currently facing the Ecuadoran mining industry.

Approximately 10,000 people in the area surrounding Zaruma make their livings from “artisanal,” or small-scale subsistence mining. The work is backbreaking and the profit margins generally narrow. It is hardly the most efficient way to access the country’s estimated 280.4 tons of unmined gold.

Recognizing what the underground stores of gold, copper, and silver worth an estimated $200 billion could mean for a country with more than a quarter of its population living below the poverty line, President Rafael Correa introduced a bill aimed at encouraging new investment in the mining industry. The measure seeks to diversify the Ecuadoran economy, which is heavy in oil and exports, and to attract companies to make big investments in large-scale mining projects.

Unfortunately for President Correa, the pending legislation was not enough to entice one of its major targets, Canada’s Kinross Gold Corporation, into following through with a planned $1.3 billion mining project in southeastern Ecuador. The development of the Fruta del Norte mine was scrapped after more than two years of negotiation, and is now expected to be taken over by Chinese investors.

China has been an increased presence in Ecuador over the past several years, and Chinese investor groups seem eager to continue the expansion. Having already established a strong presence in the oil sector through China National Petroleum’s and Sinopec’s local subsidiaries, investors are keen to deepen their involvement with the mining industry. Last year Chinese-backed Ecuacorriente signed a $1.4 billion deal with the government to open a large-scale mining project in the Mirador copper deposit. The company is currently negotiating another deal to expand their operations to the Panantza-San Carlos copper deposit.

These concessions to major foreign investors with superior capital and technology have not gone unnoticed by concerned indigenous groups. Many groups across the country have protested. Some — like the Shuar — have even marched to Quito. The fear is artisanal miners cannot survive in an industry dominated by huge corporations.

Communities like Zaruma are at the heart of the debate. On one hand, the seemingly inevitable expansion of foreign companies into the area now home to subsistence miners would bolster an important Ecuadoran industry, despite the risk that such an expansion could cause social unrest.

On the other hand, there is the idea that investments should be focused on local mining businesses, like many already operating in Zaruma. The investments would allow these businesses to increase their capital and technology so as to be able to compete for government concessions. Their operations would be smaller projects but would keep the profits in the local community.

The mining of precious metals in Ecuador has a difficult, haunted history, and in many ways the uncertain future of communities like Zaruma demonstrates how complex the issues surrounding the industry remain even today.

– Lauren Brown

Source: BBC, The Financial Times
Photo: Ecuador Times

Kore Fanmi: Success for Haitian Social Program

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In Haiti, many poor and vulnerable families, most of which live in rural communities, lack access to social services, hospitals, and the necessary medical attention. However, the Kore Fanmi project, launched last year, has been successful in providing 15,000 families with increased access to basic services in the Center department.

In partnership with the World Bank, the Haitian Ministry of Finance’s Fund for Economic & Social Justice, and World Vision, the project trains local members of the community as Household Development Agents (HDAs), who then work towards connecting families with the social services they need the most. The project is helping families gain access to fundamental services such as education, vaccines, and latrines.

By training members of communities to be social workers, these individuals also benefit from the program; Dr. Germanite Phanord, the project manager at of the Economic and Social Assistance Fund, said, “This is a social protection program where a model is tested to determine if sectors workers can be transformed into social workers”.  After HDAs are trained, they become responsible for 100 families, for which they must prepare a plan, which is based on 28 life goals, such as, “the family must use latrines.” By providing these services, Kore Fanmi is focusing on helping families restore and fulfill their human rights.

In addition, the Kore Fanmi project aims to connect with international agencies and nongovernmental organizations so that they can create a common operational strategy for coordinated and decentralized delivery of basic services. By improving this aspect of public administration, an inter-organizational coordination will allow a HDA to refer a vulnerable family to another organization in their commune, who can provide the relevant medical, food or social program required.

The structure and training program of the Kore Fanmi project are both realistic and sustainable; the grass roots, community approach is aiding rural communities to change attitudes towards family planning, treated water and education.

– Chloe Isacke
Source: World Bank, Partners in Health
Photo: Washington Post

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Latest Statistics on Philippine Poverty

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The National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) released its latest report on poverty in the Philippines on April 23, 2013. The results of the survey, which is taken every three years, showed that as of the first semester of 2012, 27.9 percent of Filipinos were living below the poverty line. This estimate is a concern to the Philippine government because it shows that despite the government’s targeted efforts, poverty rates have remained relatively unchanged from their 2009 levels.

According to the World Bank, the number of people living in extreme poverty has dropped in every other developing region in the world between 2005 and 2008, leaving many to ask why the Philippines has not seen the same decline.

In the NSCB’s 2006 survey, results showed that 28.8 percent of Filipinos were living on less than $1.25 per day. That number barely changed in 2009 when poverty levels were reported at 28.6 percent. With a decrease of only 0.7 percent over three years, poverty levels appear to have remained stagnant in the Philippines.

In order for a family of five to escape the label of “extremely poor” in 2006, they would have had to earn P1,681 ($39.09) a month. In 2009, they needed to bring home P2,042 ($47.49). By the 2012 survey, those income requirements more than doubled. The most recent NSCB report shows that families must earn P5,458 ($126.93) a month to put food on the table every day. If they want to meet non-food needs, such as clothing, they would have to earn P7,821 ($181.89).

 

Poverty in the Philippines

 

The report indicated that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) ranked as the worst national region with poverty levels in its provinces ranging from 42 percent to 47 percent. The region with the lowest incidences of poverty was the National Capital Region (NCR), averaging around 3.9 percent.

According to the NSCB, poverty rates are well above 40 percent in 15 provinces and one city (Catabato City is chartered and therefore not a part of a province).

The poorest province, Lanao del Sur, registered 68.9 percent poverty levels. The province with the lowest rate was the 2nd District of the NCR with 3.1 percent. The capital city of Manila, located in the 1st District of the NCR, had a 3.8 percent poverty rate.

In an attempt to combat the intergenerational transmission of poverty, the Philippine government began implementing a grant program for the country’s poorest in 2008.

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), funded by the World Bank, are intended to meet short term consumption needs. CCT is given to young children for attending school; to pregnant women to help them with pre-natal care and to families who get their health checked regularly. Despite meeting one goal of keeping children in school, many now believe that the CCT program is not doing enough.

Currently, the bottom 20 percent of the country’s earners make up six percent of the country’s total income. The top 20 percent bring in 50 percent of the total income. Based on the findings of the NSCB’s study, CCT has not been able to significantly improve this income inequality.

The CCT budget for the first semester of 2012 accounted for only a quarter of the amount needed to eradicate poverty in the Philippines. The NSCB estimates that P79.8 billion ($1.86 billion) was needed for the first half of 2012, but the budget for the whole year was only P39.4 billion ($92 million).

The government responded to the NSCB report by stating that it would begin monitoring poverty trends more closely through an annual survey instead of waiting every three years to do so.

It is not immediately known why extreme poverty in the Philippines has failed to show improvement. Regardless of the cause, it is evident that more has to be done to improve the lives of the country’s poorest.

Read more about poverty in Philippines

 

– Allana Welch

Source: The Inquirer, The Rappler, Philstar, World Bank
Photo: Pototour

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Poverty in Sri Lanka

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Poverty in Sri Lanka has been decreasing for years, and a recent study shows that this trend is continuing. Between 1990 and 2011, overall poverty in Sri Lanka plummeted from 26.1% to 8.9%. Much of this progress has been made in recent years, with the number of Sri Lankans stuck in poverty falling by over half between 2006 and 2012.

While Sri Lanka definitely deserves recognition for the astounding progress it has made, there are still some clear areas for improvement. For example, gains in the fight against poverty have been uneven across various population groups. While poverty rates have dropped significantly in both the urban and rural populations, poverty on Sri Lankan plantations has actually risen by roughly half. Sri Lanka is also being outpaced by some of its geographical neighbors. Growth rates of per capita income are far behind those of South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. Studies focusing on Sri Lankan poverty also reveal a vicious cycle, in which people who cannot afford adequate nutrition are more likely to develop health problems later in life, which often drain them of any monetary resources they do have. Similarly, when people can’t afford education, they are less likely to gain access to highly profitable employment opportunities. Cycles such as this help organizations and governments understand why poor people tend to stay poor, enabling them to more effectively empower the poor to raise themselves out of poverty.

Various organizations, including the United Nations Development Program, have worked alongside the Sri Lankan government to make this progress possible. Much of their success has been with programs to improve the efficiency of agriculture and fishing businesses. These programs include an initiative to advocate for struggling plantation workers that make up an increasing percentage of the population, and the building of an ice plant so fishermen can store their catch in order to get a better market price. Another significantly effective strategy in Sri Lanka’s fight against poverty has been to encourage political stability. These efforts have included the building of a new courthouse, and improved training of Sri Lankan police officers. Efforts such as these take a holistic approach to poverty. They arise from careful consideration of the myriad factors that contribute to poverty on both individual and societal levels, and they work to address those factors. Innovative work such as this, and the encouraging results it has produced thus far, serve as an inspiration in the global effort to end extreme poverty.

– Katie Fullerton

Sources: CEPA, Journal of Competitiveness, World Bank, UNDP
Photo: Photopin