Tag Archive for: Global Poverty

Inflammation and stories on global poverty

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Myths about Foreign Aid

myths_about_foreign_aid
The fact is that some 795 million people in the world do not get enough food to lead healthy, productive lives, and the vast majority of the world’s hungry live in developing countries. The following are three myths about foreign aid:

1. We shouldn’t bother. Our small contributions won’t make a difference in such an enormous problem as global poverty. When it comes to world hunger, the “one person can’t make a difference” myth can be easily dispelled.

Here in the U.S., mosquitoes are aggravating little pests; however, in Africa, mosquitoes are deadly. In 2005, the Against Malaria foundation was founded; it implements practical, cost-efficient, insecticide-treated bed nets to fight this preventable disease.

Over the past 15 years, approximately 663 million cases have been prevented in Africa — roughly 68 percent of that reduction is contributed to the distribution of a billion bed nets. Each bed net costs around $5, lasts for three to four years and protects two people. So, yes, as little as five bucks can make a difference in a global problem, and this, of course, is just one example.

2. We have no idea where our money really goes. Those fundraisers are scams. Unfortunately, the existence of corruption persists all over the world, and that isn’t a myth. Along with the endless benefits the internet provides there are also the ceaseless hoaxes, which are often in the disguise of charitable organizations.

To some extent, it seems as if charities and even the word “donate” tend to act as repellents, triggering apprehension and uneasiness. Fortunately, programs, such as the Millennium Challenge Account, and laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, monitor and help safeguard aid. And when in doubt, research the organization before providing any type of aid. Consumer Affairs is one helpful website.

3. Taking care of others in developing countries implies that we are failing to “take care of ourselves.” On the contrary, the more independent others become, the more consumers we acquire. Actually, our nation’s safety strengthens as we lift others out of poverty.

Three major myths about foreign aid busted and many more to be exposed. The following are three ways we can effectively help eradicate global poverty and hunger:

  1. Research the organization before providing aid.
  2. Get active and lobby for the world’s poor. Call and/or email Congress in support of poverty reduction. The Borgen Project provides an efficient, simple method to contact Congress.
  3. Believe that you can make a difference in a global epidemic. The very act of providing aid to another is itself a gift.

– Dana McLemore

Sources: Against Malaria, DTIC, FAO, KFF
Photo: Flickr

Why Poverty Exists Still

Why_Poverty_Exists

The United States began assisting foreign countries in 1961 with the establishment of USAID. So, if we have been fighting poverty for 54 years, why does it still exist?

In total, the United States gives $30 billion to the world’s poor. That number alone may sound like a lot but not when compared to the $663 billion going toward military spending.

Even so, with $30 billion going toward the fight to end global poverty, why do the problems of poor health and education, hunger and lack of adequate housing persist?

According to new studies, violence is the answer. In a Ted Talk given back in March of 2015, Gary Haugen discussed violence and how it is the hidden reason for why poverty exists to this day. He stated, “The truth is, the poor of our world are trapped in whole systems of violence.”

He went on to talk about how everyday violence must be controlled if our efforts at foreign assistance are ever going to work. “And so the epidemic of everyday violence, it just rages on,” he said. “And it devastates our efforts to try to help billions of people out of their two-dollar-a-day hell.”

An article written in 2011 in The Economist showed similar findings. The magazine reported that violence “is not just one cause of poverty among many: it is becoming the primary cause. Countries that are prey to violence are often trapped in it. Those that are not are escaping poverty.”

The good news is that with this knowledge we can see the way to a better future. Toward the end of Haugen’s talk, he showed areas where such improvements are already being processed.

“Recently, the Gates Foundation funded a project in the second largest city of the Philippines, where local advocates and local law enforcement were able to transform corrupt police and broken courts so drastically, that in just four short years, they were able to measurably reduce the commercial sexual violence against poor kids by 79 percent.”

Other such stories are out there. Guatemala has a program that was put into place to retrain officers in how to deal with violence issues. In El Salvador, Creative was started to help with violence.

“The program is creating municipal observatories, which will collect and corroborate crime and violence data, and developing municipal crime and Violence Prevention Committees that will create action plans in their communities.”

As programs target violence directly, efforts to decrease poverty will have a better chance of success.

– Katherine Martin

Sources: Poverties, USAID, OECD, Defense, Global Issues, TED, Economist
Photo: Flickr

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Early Childhood Development and Economic Stability

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Early childhood development (ECD), or the time from a child’s birth to turning 8 years old, is considered the most critical window of childhood development.

During this eight-year window, children undergo intensive physical and social growth, shaping their bodies and perceptions of society.

But many children in developing nations lack the nutrition, healthcare and social engagement necessary during ECD to have a strong foundation for future growth and development.

ECD initiatives, ranging from parental training to preschool, have been shown to dramatically improve children’s earning potential and help them to escape the poverty cycle.

In the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations specifically addressed the value of ECD in Goal 4, stating that by 2030 all children will “have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.”

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, echoed the importance of providing aid to ECD for the termination of global poverty, saying, “Children have been educated who otherwise would have missed out.”

Through aid efforts, programs are sprouting throughout some of the world’s poorest regions, showing promising results.

The World Bank reports that children in developing nations who have participated in ECD programs have higher levels of cognitive and academic performance than their peers.

Children who have benefitted from ECD initiatives are also more prepared to enter primary school and learn more efficiently while in class. This early success in schools has led to lower levels of dropouts and grade repetitions.

As educational levels rise, so does earning potential. Especially for girls. For every year of primary education a girl receives, her earning potential rises 10 percent to 20 percent, and for every additional year of secondary education, her earning potential rises another 15 percent to 25 percent, empowering her in the workforce.

As the workforces in developing nations expand with more educated and skilled laborers, the population at large benefits from an expanded consumer base.

With increased earning and buying power comes a more complex and stable economy that is less susceptible to shock and a higher gross domestic income.

According to UNICEF, this increase in school attendance shrinks the gap between the wealthiest and poorest families, hoisting children and their families out of the poverty cycle.

– Claire Colby

Sources: The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2 UNICEF, UN, USAID, World Bank
Photo: Sharp School

Extreme Poverty: Five Unique Facts Around the World

Five Unique Facts about Extreme Poverty around the World
1. More than 1 billion people around the world live on the price of a vending machine candy bar.

Many people have only a $1.25 per day for food, medicine and shelter. Although there are 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty, the number of people living on this amount has drastically decreased over the last three decades.

2. Poverty in India is different than poverty in China–and still different from poverty in other countries, too.

India has 179.6 million people living in poverty. India has a greater share of the world’s poor than it did 30 years ago. In the 1970s and 80s, India had about one-fifth of its people living in poverty. Now, that number has increased to one-third.

When living in poverty in India, families have to deal with many harsh conditions. Due to poor weather conditions, lack of water and misuse of insecticides, many families can’t grow the crops needed to live a sustainable lifestyle. Families suffering from these poor conditions may move to the slums of Mumbai to get away, where they face other harsh conditions like overcrowded communal bathroom facilities and the lack of proper sewage systems, meaning much of the water they consume is contaminated.

Many residents in India living in poorer conditions have put off things like health and education to keep on basic survival necessities. According to the World Bank, more than 70 percent of the 22 million people living in Mumbai live in the slums.

China, however, has 137.6 million people living in impoverished conditions. Poverty in China differs from poverty in India in that, as of August 2015, it had wiped out the majority of its poverty, but there are still people living in poverty in China’s rural regions. Between 50 and 55 percent of its people live in rural areas.

Over the last decade, the number of females has drastically increased as much of the male population has left to urban areas to find work. This has caused a decrease in farming knowledge among the general population. Farmers are also victims of devastating natural disasters that result in unpaved roads, decreased farm sizes and depleted resources.

3. There are people in the United States living in extreme poverty.

In 2012, a legislator in North Carolina stated there was no such thing as extreme poverty in the state. However, North Carolina is home to three of the top 10 poorest areas in the United States. Other areas include Nacogdoches, Texas; Dalton, Georgia and Gallup, New Mexico.

Over the last few years, the number of women living in extreme poverty in the United States increased from 5.9 percent to 6.3 percent from 2009 to 2010, meaning there are 42 million — about one in three — women living in or on the brink of poverty. One of every six of these women is elderly. In 2010 alone, more than 7.2 million women fell into extreme poverty.

4. More than enough food is produced in the world to keep everyone healthy.

Enough food in the world is produced to keep everyone on an adequate diet, but nearly 854 million people, or one in seven people, go hungry. About 2.8 million people still rely on wood, crop waste and other biomass to heat and cook their food, which can also lead to malnutrition. Luckily, there are many organizations, like Stop Hunger Now and World Hunger Organization, fighting hunger.

5. Poverty in Africa is caused by different effects than poverty in Latin America.
One of the major causes of poverty in Africa is unsustainable agriculture. Poverty in Africa takes place primarily in Africa’s rural regions, where citizens rely heavily on agriculture for sustenance and income. When the weather is harsh on crops, poor agricultural techniques are practiced or soil erosion prevents hearty crops, and many families suffer because of it.

In Latin America, one of the major causes is the inequality of wealth distribution. While poverty in Africa is mostly in rural areas, poverty in Latin America plagues both rural and urban regions. Other causes of poverty in Latin and South America are internal conflicts and issues with structural adjustments.

– Julia Hettiger

Sources: Mic, Gabriel Project Mumbai, The Guardian, Yahoo
Photo: Flickr

How the Growing Youth Population Can End Extreme Poverty

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It is common knowledge that the world’s population is growing. Less so, but still well known is the fact that the majority of this growth takes place in developing countries. This fact can either increase or reduce global poverty, depending upon what actions are made in response.

Looking at the Stats

In a recent article on USAID’s blog entitled, “How to End Extreme Poverty in 3 Easy Steps,” they stated that, “The bulge in young populations seen in places like Africa offers an opportunity to bolster the economic growth of the continent and, in turn, lift more people out of poverty.”

When looking at youth statistics though, it is hard to find much that is positive. The UN’s statistics on youth in 2011 showed that unemployment rates for young people are significantly higher than adults in every region of the world.

Then, in 2012 stated, “Nearly 75 million youth are unemployed around the world, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007. By 2016, the youth unemployment rate is projected to remain at the same high level.” And remain at the same high levels it has.

That leaves around 75 million individuals that could be fighting poverty as an untapped resource.

If change is to happen, the youth need to be reached in order to reduce poverty.

According to the Global Partnership for Education organization, “If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty.”

How can youth reduce poverty by this much though? And why is education so vital to success?

6 Ways Education Combats Poverty

  1. Provides knowledge and skills to provide for themselves and children
  2. Better work opportunities
  3. Creates better chances for economic growth
  4. Encourages transparency in government and fights corruption
  5. Reduces child marriages and early births
  6. Reduces spread of diseases

These are only six of the many ways that education combats and reduces poverty. By focusing on youth education programs, global poverty would be dramatically changed.

Obstacles Despite Aid

Many governments, programs and organizations such as USAID and the Global Partnership for Education are currently making improvements in this area, but much more remains to be changed.

USAID alone has trained almost 4,000 teachers and enrolled 336,000 more children in school over the last five years.

Even with this kind of success though, there are many barriers that keep the youth from educational opportunities.

These issues range from gender inequality, political unrest/war, lack of resources, disabilities, climate change and more.

The youth of the world are the hope for a better future. By investing in them, hope for poverty reduction increases. Effective, quality education is the key that brings it all together.

The USAID article on ending extreme poverty stated, “To be free of poverty is to have access to the basics in life — enough nutritious meals a day, good health and well-being, training to build skills and knowledge, and freedom and independence in a peaceful environment.”

With the youth being targeted as a resource, reducing, and possibly even ending, extreme global poverty is a goal that is within reach.

– Katherine Martin

Sources: Medium, UNESCO 1, Global Partnership, UNESCO 2
Photo: Pixabay

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The Power of Partnerships

The Power of Partnerships
“Together, we can make a difference.”

It sounds cliché, but in the world of humanitarianism, partnerships have been shown, again and again, to be key in fighting global poverty and injustices.

Of course, it occurs on an organizational level all the time. In the humanitarian community, organizations intersect in countless ways. At the end of almost any humanitarian website, there is a tab at the bottom called “Partnerships,” “Partners,” or “Work with Us.”

When one organization has the expertise to improve education opportunities, another has the educators on the ground, another has the finances, and another has the technology to create school supplies that are more affordable or efficient; a partnership can be massively beneficial.

Pooling resources to unite for a common goal means that more help can be brought to where it is needed most.

Historically, partnerships have occurred between countries in order to achieve common political, economic and sometimes humanitarian, goals.

Often, these arise out of necessity: wartime, natural disasters, disease epidemics, and so on. But when partnerships arise out of foresight, crises can be handled more efficiently and existing programs and policies can be improved.

An example is the countries united in a commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, which have been implemented over the last fifteen years to a largely successful degree.

In the partnership between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Save the Children, there are five key elements: programming, research and development, joint-advocacy, employee engagement and cause-related marketing.

The Partnerships page of CARE, an organization whose mission is simply “to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world,” is divided into sections: foundations and trusts, corporate partners, humanitarian partners, institutional donors, and research and technical partners.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a part of the UN Secretariat. Its mission is to bring together humanitarian groups to make sure that responses to emergencies are coordinated and coherent.

partnershipsIt works with governments, regional organizations, and groups at the national and international levels in order to make sure that the people who need help are getting as much as they can as quickly as possible.

These are all examples of the many ways that partnerships can be utilized. There are so many different aspects to any heartfelt mission, so organizations can connect in ways that the average person might never have considered. When opportunities are considered critically, the possibilities are endless.

It can all start to feel a little bit like alphabet soup sometimes: The IRRI works with HRDC, SKEPs, and a company called PRIME. UNAIDS cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNODC.

But here is what lies at the core of it all: organizations are coming together, communities are coming together, and individuals are coming together to make a difference and to do what is right. With technology increasing the rate of globalization, partnerships are easier than ever to form, and this should be taken advantage of.

It can serve as a lesson to anyone about the importance of coming together.

For any individual who looks at everything that is wrong with the world and says, “But what can I do?” because their resources and the scope of their influence are limited, he can ask, “What do I need in order to make a difference?”

From there, he can reach out to other individuals and groups who have different resources to offer, who have a different sphere of influence, who can help the person to make the kind of impact that will really be worthwhile.

“Partnership” is a word that can mean so many things. It offers forth a range of possibilities that are almost infinite. Humanitarian groups are one of the most important examples of how much more can be achieved through communication and the formation of connections.

– Emily Dieckman

Sources: Care, OCHA 1, IRRI, OCHA 2
Photo: Pixabay1, Pixabay2

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Want to be a Part of Baylor’s Global Health Hackathon?

Want to be a Part of Baylor's Global Health Hackathon?
In September, Baylor Global Initiatives hosted their first Global Health Hackathon. While a hackathon may sound like a group of socially awkward nerds sitting in a dark basement stealing credit card information, it is actually something much less devious and much more relevant to reducing global poverty.

Hackathons are events hosted to bring together students and innovators from a myriad of disciplines. During the event, teams are created that then race to develop solutions to a given problem.

Baylor’s hackathon was held with the intent of generating solutions to global health issues, specifically the emergency response and procedural care being used by Baylor College of Medicine faculty in African countries.

A team’s final product can be anything that can improve global health: software, hardware, medical tools, delivery or financing mechanisms. Winning teams can win funding to further the development of their prototypes or concepts as well as a reward.

Baylor’s hackathon is a wonderful opportunity to work with thinkers who are hoping to make a difference and learn from world-renown faculty from several top-notch university and organizations, including Rice University, Texas A&M University and NASA.

Click here to see highlights from Baylor’s Global Health Hackathon.

– Brittney Dimond

Sources: Momentum, Baylor College of Medicine
Photo: Flickr

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Improving Nutrition Boosts IQs in Developing World

As Nutrition Improves, Developing Countries Get Smarter
To say poverty is a complex issue is an understatement. The conditions that lead to and perpetuate poverty occur across levels, making it different for individuals, organizations and governments to address. Targeting initiatives toward healthy individual development is imperative to reduce poverty in the long-term.

Poverty, at its core, is a stressor. An inability to gain access to proper nutrition, quality medical care and education greatly affect the well-being of individuals and families.

For children, the effects of extreme poverty are magnified, which has implications for brain development, psychological well-being and ability to handle conflict. Iodine deficiency, which is common in developing countries, can lead to neural tube defects during pregnancy, especially if the fetus is female.

Iodine deficiency is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation in children; the CDC estimates that 18 million children worldwide are born disabled as a result of the deficiency. Currently, two billion people are at risk for iodine deficiency.

Iodine, in addition to other micronutrients, is critical for healthy brain development and functioning. Initiatives to address micronutrient deficiency work to not only reduce world hunger but also ensure that children can have healthy brain development.

Ensuring healthy brain development is not just preventing deficiencies, it gives children increased potential to develop abstract thinking skills. As noted by James Flynn, a psychologist who researches global patterns of IQ scores, intelligence increases as societies modernize.

Through modernization, individuals are more likely to have access to education, have more cognitively demanding work and utilize logic more often in their daily lives. In turn, critical thinking becomes more necessary and there is a need for individuals to have strong working memory and abstract thinking skills.

Flynn has also documented the “Flynn Effect”: as societies develop, the average IQ score increases. This is happening rapidly in developing countries; Kenya, for example, has seen an eleven point increase in IQ scores over a fourteen-year period. In contrast, the U.S. has seen an eighteen point increase over a 55-year period.

While it is difficult to untangle all of the factors contributing to developing countries’ increasing IQ scores, access to education and better nutrition are most likely strong influences on this gain. These countries are developing and modernizing simultaneously, which accelerates the increase in intelligence scores.

Flynn also argues that, in developed countries, the trend towards smaller families have exposed children to more adult speech, which further improves a child’s intelligence. Perhaps it is arguable, too, that as impoverished communities gain access to medical care and family planning and the birth rate reduces, these children reap similar benefits.

As organizations continue to implement programs fighting world hunger and reducing micronutrient deficiencies, this gain in IQ scores for developing countries is an important reminder that at its core, development work is an investment.

Investing in nutrition for individuals in poverty can bring better brain health, which leads to improved academic performance and increased resiliency, thus empowering people both now and in the future.

– Priscilla McCelvey

Sources: CDC, Vintage Books, Scientific American, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr

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Ending Extreme Poverty: Politics Weighs Us Down

Ending Extreme Poverty: Politics are Weighing Us Down
In November, The United Nations Climate Change Summit will commence in Paris, France, the last of three paired conferences that set to discuss action regarding two great problems of our time: extreme poverty and climate change. Even though extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1980, political systems are making it difficult to envision the end of extreme poverty by 2030.

Since 2000 when the UN adopted the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs), major victories have been made in regard to extreme poverty. Compared to 1990, the number of people in the world living on less than $1.25 per day has dropped from 1.9 billion to 836 million.

Despite the efforts of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implemented in September 2015, politics may be halting the fight to eradicate extreme poverty.

Due to war and climate change, 59.5 million people worldwide have left their homes, a global displacement figure that has not been this high since World War II.

With this high displacement, the European Union (EU) has failed to find homes for a mere 60,000 asylum seekers. Since the EU has a population of over 500 million, political leaders have no excuse for finding homes.

In regards to the UN’s Third Financing for Development Summit this past July in Ethiopia, the goal was to discuss ways to finance the end to extreme poverty in 2030.

One key phrase from the conference linked climate, environment, and development: “All of our actions need to be underpinned by our strong commitment to protect and preserve our planet and natural resources, our biodiversity and our climate.”

Unfortunately, no dates or commitment to the clause ensures physical action, lacking a sense of urgency that should be present.

As the Climate Change summit approaches, world leaders will decide a necessary strategy in regard to the growing problem with climate change and its connection to extreme poverty.

With only 15 years left to solve extreme poverty, world leaders and the general population cannot expect the matter to solve itself. More compromise and effort is needed with all world leaders to solve extreme poverty.

– Alexandra Korman

Sources: Arab News, Devex, Irish Examiner
Photo: Flickr

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The Role of XPRIZE in Ending Poverty

Ending_Poverty
Lack of access to sanitation and agriculture; the inability to maintain infrastructure or attend school—these are just some of the issues addressed by non-profit organizations aiming to combat global poverty. XPRIZE, one such non-profit, comes at the problem from a different angle by focusing on what the organization believes to be a need for ending poverty and spurring development: competition.

According to the organization’s website, “an XPRIZE is a highly leveraged, incentivized prize competition that pushes the limits of what’s possible to change the world for the better.” This group believes that innovation can solve the world’s problems, and competition created by the website and sponsors will foster this innovation.

There are eleven highlighted prize competitions listed on the website: Adult Literacy, Global Learning, Qualcomm Tricorder, Google Lunar, Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health, Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, Ansari, Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander XCHALLENGE, Progressive Insurance Automotive, Archon Genomics and Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup XCHALLENGE.

Some of these have already had winners selected, some are just beginning and some have finalist teams chosen. These competitions each fall within one of the “grand challenge” categories, which are Energy and Environment, Exploration, Global Development and Learning and Life Sciences.

A number of competitions involve using technology to improve access to education or healthcare. The Ansari XPRIZE was the first competition in 1996 and was awarded in 2004 to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for the creation of an aircraft capable of private space flight.

This competition relies on public participation, as well. People around the world can go online to see the current competitions and the guidelines for each and can vote for which competitions they would like to see in the future. Furthermore, anyone can join or create a team, with the idea being to have experts and amateurs in fields working creatively to produce solutions to global issues.

Through this unique approach, according to its website, XPRIZE is “spurring innovation and accelerating the rate of positive change.” By creating competition, problems caused by poverty are being and continue to be solved and brought to public attention.

– Rachelle Kredentser

Sources: Forbes, Philanthropy, XPRIZE 1, XPRIZE 2, XPRIZE 3
Sources: Global Learning XPRIZE