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5 Innovations in Poverty Eradication in Chad 

Five Innovations in Poverty Eradication in Chad 
Chad is a land-locked country with sporadic rain patterns and regular droughts, but it has not given up its hope of ending poverty. With a population of approximately 15.5 million people, 66.2% of the population live in severe poverty with little access to clean water, healthcare and education. However, this has not stopped the Government of Chad or partnering organizations from aiding in the country’s advancement. Here are five innovations in poverty eradication in Chad.

5 Innovations in Poverty Eradication in Chad

  1. Bharti Airtel: This telecommunication company has operations in 20 countries in Africa and Asia. It has made it its mission to invest in human capital in Africa, proposing that tech training and literacy are key in African economic development and that they can open doors for knowledge and education that can empower the younger generation. Over 6,000 people will benefit from the ICT training programs Airtel is implementing in Chad. 
  2. ResEau Project: The ResEau Project is making great advances in aiding the reduction of water scarcity in Chad. In Chad, 57.5% of the population lacks access to basic water services. Additionally, only 6% of citizens receive water from unsafe open sources such as rivers. The ResEau Project is working with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Government of Chad to create 3D models and map well sites and other water sources. Since the ResEau Project started working in Chad, the success rate for water drilling has gone from 30% up to 60%.
  3. Chad Education Sector Reform Project (PARSET): The Chad Education Sector Reform Project has been working on providing primary education to children. It has built and supplied 500 schools and trained over 13,000 teachers. In addition, the program has improved the rate of children attending school from 87% to 96%. It has taught upwards of 20,000 children to read and write, and about 60% of the students are girls. Moreover, many children have struggled to have access to education as most of the population is displaced and their families need them at home to help provide water and other necessities. The project started in 2013 and will continue through the fall of 2020.
  4. Emergency Agriculture Production Support Project: In this project, The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP) are providing food vouchers and nutritional supplements for malnourished children. Chad faces major food scarcity due to frequent drought, lack of access to social services and the effects of regional conflict. In 2020 alone, approximately 1.8 million children 5 years old and younger will suffer from malnutrition. The agricultural production and livestock stabilization component of this project has provided over 30,000 households with agricultural equipment, seeds and fertilizer. Over 10,000 households received training in production techniques and more modern agricultural technologies. 
  5. Gavi The Vaccine Alliance: The Gavi Vaccine Alliance has provided vaccines to countries in poverty for years, preventing over 13 million deaths. The Gavi Vaccine Alliance has frequently partnered with leading organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, developing countries, vaccine manufacturers, private sector partners and research agencies to provide vaccinations against debilitating and deadly diseases. The Gavi Vaccine Alliance provides vaccines for measles, pneumonia, typhoid, cholera, rotavirus, yellow fever, hepatitis B and tetanus among several others. As the organization continued its work in Chad, difficulties arose with nomadic peoples with the organizations’ conventional outreach and vaccine opportunities. In fact, only 3% of children in Batha are receiving basic vaccinations. Gavi started a “One Health” approach to this and has seen great results. The program vaccinates children and animals in one setting. Additionally, at the same time, the program tries to provide convenience and efficiency to the nomadic peoples. 

Chad is working hard to lift its people out of poverty. This is evident in its unique approaches in important areas such as agriculture and livestock, education and technology access, life-saving vaccines and access to clean water. Increasing access to education and technological literacy along with high child vaccination rates in several areas should heavily aid in bringing a generation out of poverty. In addition, they should have opportunities in their adult lives to continue to work on even more innovations to further the success of their country. 

– Madalyn Wright
Photo: Flickr

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Improving Internet Access in the DRC

Internet Access in the DRC
Internet access in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been almost nonexistent for the past decade. The DRC’s internet access is 145th in the world, which is horrendous knowing the haunting past of its internet accessibilities. It was just in 2019 that the DRC lost its internet access completely amidst its election cycle. This has become a growing trend amongst several African and Asian nations, as governments are becoming more capable of shutting down electronic ways of communication and civil discourse. Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and Skype have cut communication. Here is some information about internet access in the DRC.

Economic Burden of Internet Loss

The financial burden that the DRC has faced has become an eroding problem after every internet shutdown of 83 million people. NetBlocks and the Internet Society, both internet access groups, calculated these shutdowns by using an algorithm. NetBlocks is a website that has a Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST) that “estimates the economic impact of internet disruption, mobile data blackout or app restriction using indicators from the World Bank, ITU, Eurostat, and U.S. Census.” NetBlocks estimated that the DRC’s shutdown costs an economic downturn of $3 million or more. This paints a bleak picture for the people of the DRC and their government.

Cutting off internet access is one thing but to cut it off at the expense of losing capital funds is a losing feat on both ends. The Internet Society has been trying to answer the question, how can internet access be better for the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

New Approaches to Internet Access

In 2019, The Internet Society started working on launching the second Internet Exchange Point in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kojo Boakye, that Head of Public Policy for Africa, said that “This new infrastructure will help improve connectivity by lowering the cost of delivering Internet services to people in the region.”

Since then, the DRC has seen a steady increase in internet access. Mobile connectivity has increased by 1 million (3.1%) from January 2019 to January 2020. This increase still means that 60% of the DRC’s total population does not have a mobile connection via the internet. Social media accounts have increased by 680,000 (28% increase) from April 2019 to January 2020.

The Future of the Internet in Congo

With TIS and NetBlock’s help, internet access in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should continue to expand as more IEP emerge. Another way of helping the Congo is by advocating for the removal of censorship laws from laws like No. 13/2002. No. 13/2002 “governs the telecommunication sector and confers powers on the government to take charge of communication facilities in the interest of national security or public defense.”

Not complying with these laws makes internet service providers like Bharti Airtel and Orange Group afraid that the country could revoke their licenses. If these laws change or the DRC puts a new one in place, internet access in the DRC should allow others to hear all voices without the government’s force.

– Grant Ritchey
Photo: Flickr