Tag Archive for: Global Poverty

Inflammation and stories on global poverty

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Gates Foundation Report: Optimism in the Fight Against Poverty

Gates Foundation ReportThe recently published Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation report entitled ‘Goalkeepers: The Story Behind the Data’ seeks to highlight the progress made by public health workers and governments around the world in the fight against poverty and infectious diseases. The Foundation plans on publishing a Goalkeepers report every year until 2030. Their main objective is to demonstrate that investments in the fight against global poverty truly do have an impact, thus fighting skepticism of foreign aid. This year’s report puts the progress in this area in perspective; contrary to what seems to be a prevailing pessimism about the state of the world, the 2017 Goalkeepers report clearly demonstrates that the “world is better now than 25 years ago”.

The report uses 18 data points from the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, signed in 2015 by world leaders, that are particularly relevant to health and well-being, such as infant mortality and vaccination. Although improvement is stagnating, a majority of the indices show great improvement in the last two decades. Since 1990, more than 100 million lives of children five years or younger have been saved. The rate of infant mortality per 1,000 has dropped from 85 to 38. Maternal deaths have fallen from 275 per 100,000 live births to 179 in 2016.

The report shows that the world is better now than 25 years ago for a large portion of its most vulnerable members. Under the World Bank definition of poverty (living under $1.90 a day), the global poverty rate has decreased from 35 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in 2016.

In terms of health and the fight against infectious disease, the report also emphatically demonstrates how the world is better now than 25 years ago. HIV, for example, has had a remarkable decline in the past two decades, from 0.6 deaths per 1,000 people to 0.25 in 2016. Smoking rates have also significantly improved around the world. In 1990, 22 percent of people 10 years or older smoked; today, that number has dropped to 16 percent. The most impressive improvement is in widespread vaccination, which the report claims is “one of the most impressive public health stories in global health”. 89 percent of target populations have been covered by the eight major vaccines, compared to 73 percent in 1990.

The Sustainable Development Goals have a 2030 deadline, which is why the Gates Foundation report will be released every year until then. Although the numbers demonstrate that the world is better now than 25 years ago, Bill Gates has expressed some concern over a decline and stagnation in funds directed towards foreign aid and global health, especially in the fight against HIV. The remarkable feat of progress achieved so far by the international community at large should serve as an impetus for continued and increased funding, something the Gates Foundation intends to push for.

– Alan Garcia-Ramos

Photo: Flickr

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How Online Education Can Alleviate Global Poverty

Online Education

Information technology and the ever-increasing access to it has been a product of the 21st century. It has been both a blessing and a curse to the modern world, but does it also have an opportunity to give rise to global access to education? Some argue that the faults of an online education lead students to abuse internet access when “learning” subjects, while others see it as a tool to springboard educational opportunities for both young people as well as those whose community’s systems for education may not have adequate resources.

Massively open online courses, or MOOCs, have recently been made more readily available for online education. With these, students can take courses on several areas of discipline at a variety of different levels, ranging from single courses in business and finance to a more extensive series of courses on web design.

An online education platform utilizing MOOCs, Coursera, has been a forerunner in this type of educational experience by making these courses available for free to any student with access to a computer or smartphone. Co-founder Daphne Koller has made it her mission to enable impoverished communities by making these classes available as a “real course” experience, as opposed to a watered down or less intuitive version that a naysayer may argue is the downfall of online education.

These courses also provide a legitimate certificate that can act as college credit or be presented to a potential employer once a course or set of courses is finished. Koller contends that an online education not only makes courses more accessible, but is also a more enriched way of learning. The courses employ interactive techniques and self- and peer- evaluation during the lesson, where otherwise a student may be complacent or simply not paying attention.

So, students can enjoy a flexible and valuable education online from essentially anywhere in the world, but what does this mean for the future of global poverty?

Platforms such as these not only provide insight into education experiences through models of self-evaluation, self-tutoring, and accessibility, but also open doors for entrepreneurial self-starters. People with the drive to lift themselves out of poverty situations through their own ingenuity and passion would be able to do so, as long as this tool is made available. With seemingly limitless and fast-paced technology advances, online education has the potential to revolutionize the educational experience as a whole and enable more people to take advantage of the power of knowledge.

– Casey Hess

Photo: Flickr

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How Virtual Reality Is Fighting Global Poverty

Virtual Reality Is Fighting Global PovertyVirtual reality technology is such a recent phenomenon that we have only just tapped into its potential. This technology has been used to expand the capabilities of film and video games, to train soldiers and surgeons, to assist space missions and to aid patients in physical and mental therapy. Non-governmental organizations have found another use for it; now virtual reality is fighting global poverty.

One of the first major forays into using virtual reality to fight global poverty when the U.N. showed a film called “Clouds Over Sidra” which puts the viewer in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The viewer is given a tour by a twelve-year-old girl named Sidra, who explains what her life is like at the camp.

The U.N. has shown this film and others through virtual reality headsets to potential donors at humanitarian fundraising events. These films have seemingly become a hit. At a March humanitarian pledging conference where donors viewed “Clouds Over Sidra,” $3.8 billion was donated to aiding Syrian refugees, well beyond the conference’s goal of $2.3 billion. In New Zealand, one out of six people who saw the film chose to donate, which was twice the normal donation rate.

A major reason why virtual reality is fighting global poverty so effectively is its ability to elicit empathy from viewers. In a 2013 experiment from Stanford University and the University of Georgia, two groups did a color-matching exercise in virtual reality, where one group pretended to be colorblind and the other group was forced into colorblindness through a filter. The study found that the second group spent twice as much time helping colorblind people than the first group. Similar experiments found that people who saw 65-year-old virtual avatars of themselves were more likely to save for retirement, and people who cut down a tree in a simulator used fewer napkins than people who read a description of what happens when a tree is cut down.

The intense, empathetic reactions to VR films have not been lost on VR film producers such as Robert Holzer, CEO of Matter Unlimited. “I’ve never experienced such a visceral reaction to any form of media,” says Holzer. “People are left with something closer to what a memory is, versus what they are left with when it is something that they just watched, and that to me is the wild difference of VR.”

The apparent success of virtual reality has caused other global development nonprofits, such as Amnesty International and Trickle Up, to invest in virtual reality films. It seems that virtual reality isn’t just for video games; it also has the potential to be a significant driver of development funding.

– Carson Hughes

Photo: Flickr

Alleviation of Global Poverty a Benefit of Tourism

Alleviation of Global Poverty
After the United Nations declared 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, governments worldwide have been growing their tourism industries to facilitate the alleviation of global poverty.

Year after year, the United Nations has seen an increase in money circulating in various countries’ tourism industries. However, these countries are some of the wealthiest in the world, among them the United Kingdom, United States and Germany.

The United Nations is working to increase the benefits of tourism in countries struggling with immense poverty, but it will not be easy. To accommodate tourists, a large amount of money—money that these countries do not have—will need to be spent on building and maintaining hotels, airports and other tourist amenities.

If these countries are able to build successful tourism industries, an abundance of jobs will be created and a large percentage of the profits can go directly to local communities living in poverty.

Samoa is an example of this progress. From 2005 to 2015, Samoa’s tourism industry grew from $73 million to $141 million. Samoa’s tourism industry had an impact on the alleviation of global poverty, as it ensured that visitor dollars resulted in local benefits.

Similar to Samoa, Ecuador, South Africa and Fiji are among other countries that have seen poverty relief as a benefit of expanding their tourism industries. The United Nations has played a role in the alleviation of global poverty by helping poor countries finance transport connectivity and facilitate infrastructure investment.

African countries have benefited greatly from the United Nations’ assistance with their tourism industries. Today, Africa’s tourism industries support more than 21 million jobs and have aided the alleviation of global poverty through sustainable development in struggling countries. The sustainable development seen in Africa relies on tourists making ethical travel choices. Tourists are encouraged to “go local” with food, craft purchases and tour companies when traveling in developing countries.

Tourism alone cannot end global poverty. However, if travelers, local companies and large organizations such as the United Nations continue to show their support for developing countries, the world will be one step closer to total alleviation of global poverty.

– Kassidy Tarala

Photo: Flickr

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How Women’s Rights Drive Economic Development

Women's Rights Drives Economic DevelopmentWhen it comes to discussions of economic development, women’s rights are often treated as a happy consequence of development: something that should be fostered and encouraged, but not necessary for a country’s success. However, this mindset drastically undervalues how women’s rights drive economic development.

One of the most important economic impacts of women’s rights is increased labor force participation. Women remain a largely underutilized source of talent and labor. Women currently comprise more than 40 percent of the world’s labor force, but are paid less than men and spend more of their time doing housework and caring for children than men do. Within the developing world, women are often relegated to work on small farms and are more likely to be employed in informal and low-paid jobs than men are.

When legal and social restrictions against working women are dismantled and pay is more equally distributed, participation of women in the workforce increases. As more women enter the workforce, they work more productively, since unpaid labor like childcare and housework is split more evenly between sexes. Women’s participation is also an essential part of economic expansion, which leads to greater investment and job creation. Closing the labor force gap between men and women by just 25 percent would result in 100 million new jobs for women by 2025. In some nations, removing legal obstacles for women entering the workforce would raise economic output by 25 percent.

Programs that focus on women’s education also have high returns on development. For starters, closing the gender gap in early childhood has been shown to be an important step toward closing the gender gap later in life. Educated women are more likely to have fewer children, experience a lower rate of child mortality and provide their children with better nutrition and education. Educational reforms for women ensure that it isn’t just women who benefit but their children as well.

Expanding the role of women in societies also expands the diversity of skills and viewpoints in both economic and political sectors. When women enter the workforce and compete on an even plane with men, there is a greater potential to see creativity and innovation from women. Greater gender diversity in workplace leadership has also been shown to increase organizational effectiveness. In the political realm, international trends have shown that female voters and policymakers are more likely to support policies aimed at closing the gender gap. Reforms to give equal voting rights to women in developing countries can help continue economic development spurred by expanding the rights of women.

The more one looks at the data, the more it becomes self evident that women’s rights drive economic development. The McKinsey Global Institute found that if every country advanced towards gender parity at an equal rate as its greatest-improving neighbor, the worldwide GDP would rise by $12 trillion. It’s an extremely ambitious goal but one that demonstrates the untapped potential of women in fighting global poverty. It should be no surprise that Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen believes focusing on women is key to economic development. If the world continues to fight for gender equity in education, the workforce and government, we will not only see one of the world’s greatest injustices finally corrected for but the erosion of global poverty as well.

– Carson Hughes

Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About Mark Green, USAID’s Administrator

Mark GreenOn August 7th, Mark Andrew Green became the 18th administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID is the part of the executive branch responsible for furthering international development.

As Administrator, Mark Green is responsible for leading this charge. His vision of international development has the potential to affect the lives of millions of the global poor. With that in mind, it’s important that we know who exactly he is. Here are the 7 most important things to know about Mark Green.

  1. He used to be a member of Congress. Mark Green was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 through 2007. He represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District. This is good news. It means that Green understands the ins and outs of politics and advocacy.
  2. He has a track record of supporting international aid. While serving as a representative, Mark Green voted consistently in support for international development. He was a member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. And he co-sponsored the Hunger to Harvest bill, which aimed to reduce hunger in sub-Saharan Africa.
  3. He has been an aid-worker himself. After graduating college, Mark Green and his wife taught English to rural Kenyans through WorldTeach. In his congressional testimony, Green reiterated how much this experience shaped his worldview, and how it will shape is work as an Administrator.
  4. He was the Ambassador to Tanzania. After serving as a representative, Mark Green served as an Ambassador from 2007-2009. He oversaw President George W. Bush’s first visit to Tanzania. According to Mark Green himself, his tenure as Ambassador taught him “lessons too numerous to count.” His experience in the international makes his leadership as an Administrator trustworthy and reputable.
  5. He’s worked in the private sector. After his ambassadorship, Mark Green remained involved in international development. Green served on the board of directors for Malaria No More and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Most recently, Green was president of the International Republican Institute. Notably, all the organizations Green has been a part of have one important thing in common. They focus on development with the end goal of making donor countries self-sufficient.
  6. He has bipartisan support. Mark Green served as a Republican representative, but he has support from both sides of the aisle. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, praised him during his confirmation hearing. “He has the deep personal passion and commitment to do this job as shown through years of work in advancing our common good on the international stage,” Senator Baldwin said. And Mark Green himself promised during his confirmation hearing to “work in [a] bipartisan spirit.”
  7. He is knowledgeable about aid. Simply put, Mark Green understands what makes good aid policy. He consistently said that “the purpose of foreign assistance should be ending its need to exist.” In other words, Green’s goal at USAID is to end global poverty. Ensure that the world’s poor stop needing aid. And he has been clear in the steps he will take to steer USAID towards achieving this lofty goal. Specifically, he’s called for USAID to “incentivize reform, diversify our partner base,” and “foster local capacity-building” within partner countries.

You may never have heard of Mark Green. USAID doesn’t often make the front pages of newspapers. But that doesn’t make the work that Green and USAID are doing any less important. And under the leadership of Mark Green, USAID is sure to keep on helping millions of people.

– Adesuwa Agbonile

Photo: Google/span>

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Altering Cognitive Dissonance About Global Poverty

While many would like to believe that humans are naturally altruistic, evolutionary psychology says otherwise. With progressively more people influenced by hyper-consumerism in the West, it is increasingly difficult for individuals to feel the need to give to the world’s poor at the loss of their own resources. Cognitive dissonance about poverty may be an innate aspect of human behavior, but that does not mean it cannot be altered or manipulated for the good of others.

According to Merriam Webster, cognitive dissonance is defined as a “psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously.” An individual who experiences cognitive dissonance often feels discomfort and the need to restore a sense of balance to oneself when experiencing this inner conflict, often resulting in compromising either one’s attitude or behavior. This is often demonstrated in the context of ending global poverty; many people have the means to allot portions of their income toward helping the world’s poor but instead use it for personal use such as luxurious commodities.

Have humans psychologically evolved in a way that makes it impossible to be holistically altruistic? While deciding on how one’s money is spent comes down to a conscious choice, the way one’s brain ciphers through priorities to make that choice is a fairly complex process called “psychic numbing.” Ultimately, this process makes humans prioritize resources based on immediacy and the gravity of a need. While some may feel compelled to contribute to local issues of poverty such as homelessness or poor school systems, purifying the drinking water of children overseas surely is not a top priority for most when deciding on how to spend money.

Another psychological obstacle many experience associated with cognitive dissonance about global poverty is the intimidation the problem poses; the threat of global poverty is so expansive many feel that not much can be done to tackle such a substantial issue. In reality, sacrificing nonessential goods and services can save lives.

Although global issues do not carry much weight for individuals on an everyday basis, there are strategies to counter cognitive dissonance about global poverty. For example, using personal anecdotes from those who live in poverty-stricken countries is an effective way to compel people to donate. Real world examples make it harder for people to use denial to rationalize spending $200 on a luxurious evening versus using it toward healing a sick infant from a preventable disease. If one’s attitude towards downsizing global poverty aligns with the behavior of giving, the cognitive dissonance about global poverty one may feel ceases.

– Kaitlin Hocker

Photo: Flickr

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Australian Government on Economic Inequality & Poverty

Australian Government Addresses Economic Inequality and PovertyWith three million citizens living under the poverty line, Australia is in desperate need of government action to assist the economically downtrodden. The rise of child poverty is at the forefront of the poverty-related issues that the Australian government is currently addressing.

Among the millions of impoverished Australians are approximately 730,000 children who are not receiving necessary education, housing or financial stability. Thus, the Australian government is focusing on improving the nation’s current poverty situation.

According to Labor Leader Bill Shorten, tackling rising economic inequality is a “defining mission” of a future Labor government. With this in mind, the Australian government is working with hope and opportunity rather than frustration and fear.

Australia is in its 17th year of running the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), which is a longitudinal study that provides important insight into the life courses of Australians.

Although HILDA has found that many households that experience poverty over a 10-year period only suffer poverty for about one or two of those years, about three percent of Australia’s population is living in persistent poverty. This percentage of the population is a great focus of Australian government assistance.

Additionally, HILDA shows a common theme between education and poverty. As expected, those who receive more education from higher quality institutions receive higher paying jobs while those who are not as educated tend to live below the poverty line.

When families fall below the poverty line, it becomes increasingly difficult to afford childcare and education for their children, which leads to a full circle of improper education and a lifetime of poverty. Single-parent families are at an extreme threat of poverty as one wage is unable to cover the doubling costs of childcare.

About 10 percent of the Australian community is at risk of poverty. In single-parent families, this number grows to about 20 to 25 percent. Since 2012, child poverty in single-parent families has increased every year.

By living in poverty, these children are unable to receive the same care and education that children from two-parent households are receiving, which puts them at a setback later in life.

The Australian government has recognized the suffering of these children, and immense efforts are getting put into protecting the welfare and economic assistance to families living in poverty.

– Kassidy Tarala

Photo: Flickr

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How to Eliminate Global Poverty in Three Ways

How to Eliminate Global PovertyGlobal poverty is a complex social issue that has numerous causes and implications. The causes of global poverty are numerous, but it is clear that they stem from the effects of colonization, war and political instability and the national debt of impoverished countries. The consequences of poverty on citizens are numerous and include effects such as lack of education, the transmission of diseases and even alcohol and substance abuse on the personal scale. When viewing the large picture, poverty is a primary cause of social tension. To be able to take action in addressing this issue, society must figure out how to eliminate global poverty. Below are a few ways to work toward the end of global poverty:

Combat Homelessness
A stable life is almost impossible to achieve without a home, and it is society’s job to help the homeless find a more permanent residence. Many people think of the homeless as people suffering from addiction and poor health. The reality of the homelessness problem is that a large percentage of the 1.6 billion individuals lacking adequate housing in the world are suffering from the results of political instability and chronic poverty. Eliminating the environment which makes people homeless also helps create a solution to global poverty.

One way to fight against homelessness is to support shelters that house the homeless until they can find a job and more permanent residence. Numerous foundations have this goal in mind: for example, The United Way has done the work required for any citizen to get involved in fighting global homelessness.

Combat Hunger
According to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, of the 7.3 billion people in the world, 795 million of them suffer from chronic undernourishment. This means at about one in eight people do not have access to the most fundamental quantities of food. The majority of citizens experiencing hunger reside in developing countries. Hunger makes working at one’s full potential difficult, and children who are hungry do worse academically in school. Being hungry is a key reason people are classified as impoverished. Thus, addressing this issues helps eliminate global poverty.

One method to fight against hunger is through food donations to groups fighting global hunger. Organizations such as The American Red Cross fund $33.2 million per year to fight hunger around the world. By investing in these agencies through volunteering and donations (money or non-perishable food stock), global citizens facing undernourishment can be supported.

Invest In Education
A high school diploma is one of the fastest routes impoverished people can use to escape their circumstances. Education allows people to find better jobs, pursue higher education, and learn the skills necessary to eliminate global poverty.

One way to encourage youth to remain in school and receive a high school diploma is to invest in organizations which support public schools struggling to get their students to graduate. For example, the group Robin Hood donates more funds towards education than any of their other initiatives. The organization hosts interventions with families helping children finish high school and provides extra support services on the elementary-school level (tutoring and therapy). Donating to groups such as Robin Hood helps to ensure that more children who struggle with poverty finish high school.

Poverty is an issue that remains prevalent in our society. However, much can be done to combat this problem. This includes donating and volunteering at organizations such as Robin Hood or The Red Cross or supporting groups such as The Borgen Project that advocate for anti-poverty acts from Congress. The Borgen Project works alongside Congress and advocates for them to pass laws and legislation which have the potential to address how to eliminate global poverty. Last year, The Borgen Project built support for the Global Food Security Act. This act later became law and helped address food insecurity by teaching small-scale farmers sustainable techniques which produce more food. Overall, society can avoid the issues that stem from poverty by continuing to support these organizations.

– Nicholas Beauchamp

Photo: Pixabay

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Global Poverty Issues Addressed by United Nations Agenda 21

United Nations' Agenda 21After meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 to discuss sustainable development during the World Summit, the United Nations published Agenda 21. The action plan Agenda 21 addresses social, economic, conservation and developmental issues across the globe.

The United Nations used this meeting as a means to establish sustainable development as a global undertaking. U.N. Agenda 21 notes that people’s needs of today shouldn’t compromise the needs of future generations. It was then declared that the 1990s would be a “turnaround decade” in which leaders would work furiously to reverse the world’s most pressing issues.

The issues that the United Nations saw the world facing during the ’90s were so extreme that it was not certain that the future would be sustainable for generations to come. Climate change, water security and global poverty were among these issues, and the United Nations Agenda 21 leaders decided to meet again in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002.

By addressing current global issues, the United Nations Agenda 21 acknowledges the damage that the world is currently facing and suggests optimal solutions for future generations.

The United Nations works to solve these problems at international, national, regional and sub regional levels, and they encourage people to act at the local level to help improve global conditions. Additionally, policies are implemented in different federal, state and local governments to help alleviate poverty, protect the environment and create a more sustainable world.

A key component of fighting global poverty and assisting developing countries is the United Nations improvement of access to exports. The expansion of exported goods allows developing countries to improve their market, thus reducing the amount of the population living in poverty.

By diversifying exports, the United Nations saw improvements reflected in production, prices and environmental, social and resource costs.

Although issues such as the diversity of exports had improvements since the making of Agenda 21, there is still a long way to go. The United Nations encourages civilians to do what they can at the local level. It also prompts leaders at the national and international level to address these pressing global issues and improve the future for generations to come.

As stated in the United Nations Agenda 21, “No nation can achieve this on its own; but together we can—in a global partnership for sustainable development.”

– Kassidy Tarala

Photo: Flickr