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A Long-Term Battle: Remaining Causes of Poverty in Vietnam

Causes of Poverty in Vietnam
Based on the swift drop in Vietnam’s poverty rate from 20.7% to 13.5% between 2010 and 2014, it is clear that conditions in the nation are improving. However, issues such as ethnic discrimination, a lacking education system, deteriorating infrastructure and a weak domestic private sector in the economy threaten its growth and stand as the remaining causes of poverty in Vietnam.

While statistics describing poverty throughout the Vietnamese population seem optimistic, they do not account for the fact that over half of the population among ethnic minorities continue to live below the poverty line of $2 a day. Individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds are continually isolated, geographically and socially. Their historically limited access to opportunities has created a cycle the country is working to break.

To address these inequalities, the government of Vietnam instituted a ministry known as CEMA (the Committee for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Area Affairs) and is working to increase education and social opportunities for this population.

With Vietnam having emerged as a lower middle-income country in 2010, all eyes are turned to its economy. Historically, almost all of Vietnam’s production has been handled by its government, weakening its private sector. Even still, in 2016, it was ranked 98 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business index. Experts from the World Bank argue that a richer domestic private sector could be the final push the country’s economy needs to eliminate poverty.

Failing infrastructure remains one of the large causes of poverty in Vietnam, and many other countries. Although immense efforts were made in the late nineties to bring electricity to its people, Vietnam’s infrastructure systems for energy, water, sanitation and telecommunication are far from where they need to be.

Without an efficient and reliable infrastructure, the private sector cannot grow, as individuals are unable to reach the marketplace. Furthermore, until the water system and roadways improve, education cannot flourish, as students are unable to attend school.

The country’s SEDS (Socio-Economic Development Strategy) for 2016-2020 acknowledges the biased education system, struggling market institutions and stagnant infrastructure development as causes of poverty in Vietnam and articulates the need to accelerate progress. This acknowledgment is a clear step forward in the nation’s fight against poverty.

– Emily Trosclair

Photo: Flickr

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Three Causes of Poverty in Pakistan

Causes of Poverty in Pakistan
Pakistan’s economy fluctuates daily, and the nation’s progress is slow. The causes of poverty in Pakistan are innumerable, inhibiting economic growth and development, as well as preventing the poor from escaping poverty. The following are the three main causes of poverty in Pakistan.

Population growth
At 1.86%, Pakistan has the highest population growth rate in the world. By 2050, the country will surpass 350 million people. According to Commissioner Multan, division, the main reason for such high growth is the lack of family planning. Consequently, a large population has caused unemployment, poverty and lawlessness.

The annual abortion rate in Pakistan is 50 per 100 women, and nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended and more than half end in abortion. Pakistan’s maternal mortality rate (178 per hundred thousand live births) and infant mortality rate (66 per 1000 live births) are the highest in the world. These numbers show that Pakistani women would greatly benefit from improved health services, as well as greater educational and employment opportunities.

Largely uneducated populace
About half of Pakistan’s population is illiterate, and 7.26 million children are out of school due to poverty. According to an Institute of Social and Policy Sciences report, “Pakistan has the second-highest number of out-of-school children in the world after Nigeria because Pakistan spends the lowest GDP on education in South Asian countries.” The report claims this lack of spending is detrimentally affecting the nation’s school system.

Since many children are not in school and are impoverished, child labor is a major issue in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated in 2005 that there would be 10 to 12 million child workers in Pakistan by 2010-11. In reality, according to an All-Pakistan Labor Force Survey, this number almost doubled to about 21 million child workers.

Without education and job skills training, young people cannot adopt the skills needed for employment. Existing systems fail to address the skills demanded by employers, and this hinders economic growth and societal development. Without adequate education, people remain unemployed and do not have the opportunity to rise out of poverty.

Imbalanced Taxes
Pakistan’s tax system shows unfortunate proof of the government’s corruption. The system does not differentiate between varying levels of income, but instead focuses significantly on the poor. In fact, 80% of the tax revenue comes from the poor for services including utilities, petrol and mobile communication. Meanwhile, the taxes collected from the rich do not exceed five percent.

Obed Pasha, lecturer in public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told the Asia Times, “What we have is a completely broken system [in Pakistan], where the entire burden is on the poor and large businesses do not pay taxes at all.” Without income and employment opportunities, the poor cannot afford to pay high taxes, hindering their hope to rise out of poverty in Pakistan.

Out of every 10 Pakistanis, four are without the basic needs of life, which include food, shelter, education and healthcare. In order for Pakistan’s poor to rise out of poverty, they must have adequate resources. Only improved health and education services for the poor and just taxes can increase Pakistan’s economic mobility and development.

– Sarah Dunlap

Photo: Flickr

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Making Poverty Illegal

Making Poverty Illegal
Imagine a world where poverty is illegal. These are not lost lyrics to a John Lennon song but a radically simple and pragmatic approach to eliminating global poverty through legal action. As the 70th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights nears in 2018, this new legal paradigm of making poverty illegal is being proposed to the United Nations to revolutionize how the world responds to extreme poverty.

Italian economist Riccardo Petrella’s idea that the law should ban poverty has found an unlikely alliance far from Rome. An Italian Vicar stationed in southern Chile has been a vocal advocate of the idea, and he has led the campaign mobilizing Argentine academics, Patagonian mayors, notable press associations and left-wing student organizations amongst others in the region to sign onto the pledge “We Declare Poverty Illegal.” Two Chilean municipalities have already declared poverty illegal in hopes of giving momentum to this concept throughout the country.

Participants in the region’s “From Utopia to Action Conference” on poverty discussed the pledge and demand that poverty is viewed as a systemic product, not an accidental one. They also noted that their Native Mapuche ancestors didn’t have a word in Mapundun language for poverty. However, the movement to make poverty illegal has been gathering momentum in other countries such as Canada, Belgium, Malaysia and the Philippines.

By giving a moral problem a legal solution, society can compel governments to action. Of course, passing laws alone will not end poverty or any other unwanted social ill, but it can give definitive guidelines of how and when the international community must address the most extreme forms of poverty. As Thomas Hobbes wrote in his revolutionary book Leviathan, which influenced the writers of the U.S. Constitution, “the law is the public conscience.”

What would making poverty illegal look like? It might mean guaranteeing access to clean drinking water. Other ideas that are being discussed to add to the “make poverty illegal” charter include making famine illegal. While the UN has acknowledged that clean water and food are basic human rights, they have not made mechanisms to require them to take action when confronted by these disasters. International organizations like the United Nations are continually monitoring countries at risk for famines. However, there is no current legal mechanism that mandates a response to any of the four countries currently at extreme risk of famine. In the past, delayed reactions to food insecurity and famine in places like Somalia led to thousands of preventable deaths.

By incorporating famine into the legal system, it would replace the traditional response to so many preventable deaths. Conventionally, places at risk of mass hunger need even more massive campaigns to build the alliances and awareness necessary to spur international action (think George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh or LiveAid).

Instead, the legal approach more efficiently uses measurable indicators of poverty that are already established by the UN, like the Human Development Report. The HDR focuses on numerous outcomes and deprivations to create a multidimensional view of poverty such as the infant mortality rate, malnutrition and illiteracy rates to determine where the global community should be compelled to intervene, even if there is no armed conflict.

The Civil War changed American slavery from a moral deficiency into an illegal institution. After the Holocaust, a convention established laws to prevent future genocides. While neither of these developments eliminated slavery or genocide entirely, a culture of the rule of law around these behaviors has evolved, making them entirely unacceptable and punishable by law. By making poverty illegal, we can relegate it to the same dustbin of history’s worst ideas as we did with its predecessors.

– Jared Gilbert

Photo: Pixabay

5 Facts on the Cost of Living in Japan

Living Cost in Japan
Located off the eastern coast of Asia, Japan is an island that lies in the Pacific Ocean. The natives of Japan pride themselves on their homogeneity that they have developed through centuries of tradition. Unorthodox to Western culture, Japan has thrived for a long time by hosting tea ceremonies, Buddhist- and Shinto-inspired gardens and the practice of calligraphy.

Japan is also known for its serene beauty, housing 60 active volcanoes, including Japan’s highest mountain top, Mount Fuji, which peaks at 12,388 feet in elevation. As it stands, Japan has proven to be quite successful as a country, boasting favorable statistics such as a 100% literacy rate for both men and women, a life expectancy rate of 86.6 years for women, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world at 2.8%.

This being said, Japan has also proven to be one of the most expensive countries to live in, ranked 17th in the world according to the Independent.

Here are 5 facts on the cost of living in Japan:

  1. Renting a one-person apartment in the center of Japan cities is estimated at 81,890 yen per month. The price of rent increases to 90,594 yen per month for a three-bedroom apartment. On top of the already high rent, the cost of living in Japan is further increased by 20,120 yen for basic utilities in a 915-square-foot apartment, such as electricity, water, heating and garbage.
  2. The cost of living in Japan varies in price compared to the United States. For example, consumer prices are 14.36% higher in Japan compared to the United States, and the prices of groceries in Japan are 17.77% higher than the price of groceries in the United States. However, the United States has a staggering 50.64% higher rent than Japan does, and restaurant prices in the United States are 44.77% higher than in Japan. According to the Independent, the United States slightly edges out Japan in terms of living expenses. The cost of living in Japan is ranked 17th in the world, while the United States is ranked 15th.
  3. Insurance prices in Japan total to roughly 422,604 yen yearly. Health insurance totals out to about 155,532 yen yearly, while pension insurance adds another $267,072 yen in yearly insurance costs. Insurance prices are considerably affordable considering the yearly base salary of Japan is three million yen, but with a yearly income tax of 63,240 yen, the average net salary for people in Japan comes out to 2,514,156 yen.
  4. Rent in Tokyo is noticeably more expensive than the average cost of living in Japan. Tokyo contains a population of 13.491 million people, roughly 11 percent of Japan’s total population. Monthly rent for housing in more expensive areas of Tokyo costs about 256,432 yen, and utilities for one month costs about 17,835 yen. Other luxuries to decorate one’s housing in Tokyo are also expensive, including 78,987 yen for a 40-inch flat screen television, 24,654 yen for an 800-watt microwave and 906 yen for laundry detergent.
  5. Due to the high cost of living in Japan, Japan maintains one of the highest suicide rates in the world at 41.7 per 100,000 people amongst men. The main reasons for the high suicide rate in Japan are attributed to adverse economic conditions and unemployment rates.

Overall, the cost of living in Japan is high, yet it is not inconceivable to imagine settling down in one of the many cities in Japan. Japan offers a chance at success with its high success rates in education and a strong labor force, thereby offering a steady income to afford the cost of living in Japan.

– Patrick Greeley

Photo: Pixabay

How China’s 13th Five-Year Development Plan Affects Tibet

Five Year Development Plan
Though most of China is now urbanized, some parts of the third-largest country in the world still remain cut off from industrial society. Tibet is the western part of China, dominated by high planes and an agriculture-based economy. The region can almost be considered its own country, given that the isolated culture differs so much from that of other more populated places in China such as Beijing or Hong Kong. Not only does Tibet differ in population and culture but in poverty as well. China’s 13th Five-Year Development Plan hopes to change this.

The current President of China, Xi Jinping, has stated that getting rid of poverty in rural areas such as Tibet would be the hardest part of building a “prosperous society.” In addition to building better access to transportation, the government plans to expand access to water, the internet, education and health care.

While the poverty rate in China was measured at just about 6.5% in 2012, the rate in Tibet was a staggering 32.9% by the end of 2015. The Chinese government is now being forced to strategize and increase its efforts to support Tibet. Through many provisions in China’s 13th Five-Year Development Plan (2015-2020), Tibet will benefit greatly. Included in the Five-Year Development Plan is the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, which has recently begun construction.

The China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group states that the railway will go from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, all the way to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. This line will connect the most remote villages of Tibet with the most globally connected parts of China, making travel easier and faster. The $36 billion project will promote and increase economic prosperity, which is exactly what the Five-Year Development Plan set out to do.

Since the construction of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway increased the tourism economy of the region, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is sure to have the same effect. This construction project will be a huge job-creator, and, with more money from tourism, government jobs and increased access to industrialized markets, the people of Tibet will have many more opportunities to escape from poverty.

– Vicente Vera

Photo: Google

Chocolate De-Commoditization With Certified Sustainable Cocoa

Certified Sustainable Cocoa
When shopping for basic necessities such as milk, bread or snacks, it is common to look at the price tag. Some might buy the most expensive item, but most will probably buy the cheapest. Either way, both consumers have probably questioned why brands vary in pricing, even though it is basically the same item. When people are constantly buying the cheapest item, this is called commoditization. Commoditization can have negative consequences for the farmers in developing nations producing these commodities.

“When we pay less than $2 for a chocolate bar, we are paying for the systemic poverty of millions of families,” said Emily Stone during a presentation to the United Nations. Stone is the CEO of Uncommon Cacao. This company and 16 others spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace to discuss ideas on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030; more specifically, the “Decent Work and Economic Growth” goal.

Uncommon Cacao is a company that specializes in cacao, which is the basis for chocolate. The company gives farmers in developing nations access to a steady market that provides fair wages and working conditions. Uncommon Cacao began its work in 2010, building Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize to create meaningful market access for smallholder cacao farmers.

The company’s argument is that cheap food equals cheap labor, which is why they are advocating for de-commoditization.

The Washington Times reports that the company is working to de-commoditize the cacao supply chain by training farmers in higher-quality production. They plan to buy cacao directly from thousands of farmers and pay them higher prices for better quality chocolate. This system produces what is known as Certified Sustainable Cocoa.

Thankfully, the demand for Certified Sustainable Cocoa is on the rise. Hershey’s says it’s committed to using only 100% sustainable cocoa by the year 2020, which means impoverished farmers working these cocoa plants will likely see a rise in pay very soon. Uncommon Cacao already has the ear of the United Nations; hopefully, they can influence the 16 other companies present at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

The hope is that Certified Sustainable Cocoa will become a norm for chocolate in the future. With pressure from activists and workers’ rights organizations coming down on companies like Hershey, sustainable cocoa will ensure that farmers begin to see a way out of poverty, finally being able to earn more than a chocolate bar’s worth of pay each day.

– Vicente Vera

Photo: Flickr

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Six Things to Know About Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty in Pakistan
Poverty is a global affliction affecting numerous countries in the developing world. Pakistan, a country in South Asia, is home to millions of people who live in extreme poverty. Poverty in Pakistan is on track to decrease, but there is still work to be done.

With approximately 185 million citizens, Pakistan ranks 147th out of 188 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI). Reports on poverty in Pakistan show that as much as 40% of the population–roughly the size of the population of Florida, California and New York combined–live beneath the poverty line.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report by the Pakistan Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform in June 2016 shows that 39% of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty. The MPI methodology, developed by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative in 2010, uses a broader concept of poverty by reflecting people’s deprivations related to health, education and standard of living in addition to income and wealth.

 

1.  Regional and Provincial Disparities in Poverty in Pakistan

The report states that national poverty rates in Pakistan fell from 55% to 39% from 2004 to 2015. This is a strong decline; however, development across different regions of the country is uneven. Poverty in urban areas is at 9.3% as compared to 54.6% in rural areas. Similarly, great disparities exist across provinces, with the highest rates of poverty in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan. The MPI report states that “over two-thirds of people in FATA (73%) and Balochistan (71%) live in multidimensional poverty. Poverty in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 49%, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh at 43%, Punjab at 31% and Azad Jammu and Kashmir at 25%.”

Some districts such as Qilla Abdullah, Harnai and Barkhan in Balochistan have more than 90% poverty compared to Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, in which less than 10% of residents live in multidimensional poverty. The report also found that the decrease in multidimensional poverty in Balochistan was the slowest while poverty levels had actually increased there and in Sindh province in the past decade.

 

2. Corruption in Pakistan

Despite being the second-largest economy in South Asia, development is limited by entrenched poverty in Pakistan, social inequality, lack of access to social services and extreme corruption. The 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International ranks Pakistan 116th globally. Corruption in Pakistan is not a new phenomenon. Recent Panama leaks involving the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three children are just one example: they owned offshore companies and assets not shown on his family’s wealth statement. This and other cases of corruption by political and military elites have made it impossible to alleviate widespread poverty.

 

3. Population Boom

Burgeoning population growth is another major issue that weighs down Pakistan’s socio-economic development. According to some reports, in the past 10 to15 years, the population of Pakistan has grown by more than 40 million, making it the sixth most populous country in the world. Another report found that Pakistan’s population increases by 1.8% per year. By that rate, it is feared that, if the nightmarish growth goes unchecked, the country’s population will be 245 million by 2030.

 

4. Development and Conflict

Pakistan is caught between the United States’ War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and an increasingly unstable relationship with India. Tackling poverty is important because economic instability and a lack of development can only lead to conflict and violence, domestically and regionally. In the past two decades, Pakistan has seen increasing violence at the hands of militant jihadists and Baloch insurgents. Rather than bettering the lives of common people by introducing broad-based socio-economic reforms, the Pakistani state uses excessive military force to “resolve” issues in the country’s northern and southwestern regions. Unending conflicts are another reason why it is difficult for development to take place.

 

5. Disproportionate Defense Spending

Most importantly, instead of allocating sufficient funds to address both acute and long-standing poverty, the country spends the largest amount of national expenditures on defense. A May 2017 report showed that “Pakistan’s defense expenditure in the next financial year (2017-18) will be around seven percent higher than it was in the outgoing year to Rs920.2 billion (USD$8.65 billion).” It was Rs841 billion (USD$7.9 billion) for the year 2016-2017. In contrast, Pakistan spends only 2.6% of its GDP on education, which is the lowest in South Asia.

 

6. Consequences of Poverty in Pakistan

Grinding poverty and lack of development fuel child labor, illiteracy, religious extremism and endless conflicts on massive scales. The Gross National Income per capita is only $5,031. Life expectancy in Pakistanis at 66.4 years and the expected years of schooling is miserably low at 8.1 years. These figures are among the lowest in the world.

The good news is that poverty in Pakistan decreased by 15 percent in the past decade, but, given the grim lows overall, this figure is less than encouraging. In order to alleviate poverty, policymakers need to focus on achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Although it is a big challenge for an underdeveloped country like Pakistan, meeting the SDGs is important since they provide the best possible integrated way for inclusive growth, peace and development.

Finally, policymakers should also focus on addressing the poverty of opportunity. The poverty of income is a result of the poverty of opportunity. Poverty in Pakistan is a multidimensional problem requiring multidimensional solutions.

– Aslam Kakar

Photo: Google

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Fair Trade and its Impacts in Developing Communities

Fair Trade
Fair Trade is a global movement committed to paying fair prices in trade, impacting producers in developing countries. The concept came as a response to global poverty levels and focuses on the marketing of products and development trade. It also raises awareness of trade injustice in trade structures and advocates changes to favor equitable trade. Overall, the movement organizes producers and production and provides services to the producers.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, Fair Trade products were only sold to consumers in specified shops. In 1997, Fairtrade Labelling International was created, which expanded the movement into other countries including North America.

Fairtrade Labelling International set international standards for products in certifying production trade. When a product meets these standards, the company identifies the product with a label. Purchasing products with the Fair Trade label can improve a community. The funds from Fair Trade impact communities with social, economic and environmental development projects.

Fair Trade impacts the building of sustainable businesses by demanding fair wages and treatment. Workers can socialize with buyers while gaining a living wage. Both the employed and farmers may work efficiently with this system. More companies are investing in this movement, while it also ensures safe working conditions and prevents forced child labor.

Investing companies include Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Rishi Tea in China. Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company to join the movement. With its popularity, it set an example for many other businesses to follow. Rishi Tea is based in China and makes organic teas out of some of the oldest gardens in the world. The company supports education, provides scholarship programs and builds hospitals and roads in secluded areas.

Fair Trade uses the money that may have been put toward high-priced goods to build schools instead. Since fair trade helps stabilize incomes, many families can keep their children in school. It provides supplies, scholarship programs and healthy meals. Fair Trade enables education for even the most outlying communities.

Fair Trade impacts workers, farmers and families. Farmers can receive market-based tools to prevent them from falling into poverty and may learn environmentally sustainable practices. Workers and families gain access to doctors, treatments and nutrition. These benefits enable people to help themselves as well as others in their communities.

Fair Trade is a model for alleviating global poverty. Many companies and markets are investing, impacting developing communities. From building sustainable businesses to providing education, the movement is life-changing for those living in poor communities around the world.

– Brandi Gomez

Photo: Flickr

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Why is Kosovo Poor, and How Are the Poor Being Helped?

Why Is Kosovo Poor
With approximately 30 percent of the population living in poverty, it is no surprise that Kosovo was ranked as the third poorest European country. Nearly 10 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty, and there is a 57.7 percent unemployment rate among people ages 15 to 24. With all of this shocking information, one might be compelled to ask: why is Kosovo poor?

One significant reason is the distribution of the government budget. While the government spent a whopping 210.2 million euros on roads in 2016, only 180.5 million euros went toward health and welfare. By prioritizing road development, Kosovars were left to pay for most of their medical needs. With the weight of their medical problems resting on them, many Kosovars remain in poverty.

The Kosovo government also spends an insufficient amount on education and science: only about 16 percent of the 2016 budget went toward these. This being noted, Kosovo’s youth received some of the lowest scores on the PISA test in 2015. The purpose of the exam is to determine the knowledge of 15-year-old students in the broad subjects of reading, science and math.

Having a strong educational system is crucial, especially in reducing poverty. Receiving an education gives one the opportunity to acquire a better-paying job. According to the Global Partnership for Education, if every single child could at least learn basic reading skills in school, then there would be a 12 percent drop in extreme poverty worldwide. This may not seem like much, but that is equivalent to 171 million individuals, who all possess different dreams and aspirations, and the potential to fulfill them.

With all of this information, instead of asking “why is Kosovo poor?”, it is now important to ask: what is being done to help Kosovo’s poor?

With more than two-thirds of the population living in rural areas, agriculture remains an important part of Kosovo’s economy. The World Bank is offering Kosovo a loan of 20.8 million euros to assist with agricultural purposes. The World Bank also supports the Agriculture and Rural Development Project, which helps finance investments in technologies that improve agricultural production.

Although Kosovo remains highly impoverished, there has been progress made. Over a span of a decade, the country’s GDP rose from $4.83 billion to $6.65 billion. With the help of different projects, Kosovo’s high poverty rates will continue to decrease.

– Raven Rentas

Photo: Flickr

Palestine’s Poverty Rate Remains High

Palestine Poverty Rate
Israeli blockades, land restrictions and a drop in foreign aid have ensured that Palestine’s poverty rate remains high, according to reports from the U.N. and the World Bank. However, new Israeli policies give Palestine some hope.

Palestine’s poverty rate is at 25%, and, among the youth, it is at 56%, which is the highest youth poverty rate in the world. Unemployment is at 40%, and last year 1,100 people were left homeless. While the population has increased steadily, the economy has not improved much. Over the last decade, the GDP growth rate has not exceeded 1.44%, but the population rose by 38.4%. Additionally, the business sector has lost between 50 and 60% of their pre-2014 assets, production, exports and employment.

Israeli policy is primarily responsible for Palestine’s poverty rate. Israel has blockaded the Gaza region for the 11th year in a row.  The Israeli government has also declared a third of the arable land in the area and half of Gaza’s fishing waters to be high-risk no-go zones. Additionally, last year Israel destroyed 780 Palestinian homes.

Palestine has not received much of the foreign aid that was pledged to it. The U.S. pledged $3.5 billion in 2014 but is far behind its aid plan, as 51% of the money has been disbursed. The U.S. drew up a recovery plan, but only 17% of the $3.9 billion of the recovery plan’s funds have been allocated to financial needs in the area. Moreover, 1.6 million tons of construction materials, which is only seven percent of what is necessary, was brought to Gaza since the 2014 summer war.

Israel has taken steps to better relations in the region. The Israeli government is instituting a plan to rebuild and reconstruct Palestine to combat Palestine’s poverty rate. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign affairs reported that 100,513 homes have been repaired and that 2,733 have been rebuilt. This plan will hopefully heal the political divide in the region.

While Palestine’s poverty rate remains high, political tensions ensure a stagnant economy and there is little incoming foreign aid, there may be room for a political compromise in the future. The international community remains dedicated to easing the situation in Palestine, ending the Israeli blockade around Gaza and ending land restrictions. With the help of the international community and more support from the Israeli government, Palestine’s poverty rate could drop significantly.

– Bruce Edwin Ayres Truax

Photo: Flickr