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Causes of Poverty in Libya

Causes of Poverty in LibyaLibya has long been home to a bounty of natural resources. Despite the potential these resources have to lift many out of poverty, poverty persists in this North African country. In order to improve the quality of life for many Libyans, it is important to understand the causes of poverty in Libya.

Although exact statistics regarding poverty in Libya remain unavailable, it is estimated that roughly 33 percent of Libyans live at or below the poverty line. Many Libyans live without access to clean drinking water or proper sewer systems and struggle to have their basic needs met.

This is despite the fact that Libya is home to Africa’s largest oil reserves and the tenth largest reserves in the world. The country’s economy has long relied on petroleum production; however, this has recently posed poverty-related issues.

Libya’s economy is almost entirely dependent on oil and gas. Oil reserves account for 50 percent of the country’s GDP and 95 percent of its exports. Outside of petroleum production, there is very little economic opportunity to be found in this country. Libya has long been closed off to tourism and international exchange, which limits job opportunities for many.

This has been especially problematic in recent years. Since 2014, Libya has been embroiled in civil war, and oil prices have hit a seven-year low. Crude oil production has been in decline as a result and many continue to live in poverty due to an economy whose development has been hindered by political turmoil.

This political turmoil is another one of the causes of poverty in Libya. Even after the armed rebellion that led to Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011, violence and instability continue to plague Libya. Control of the government has changed hands multiple times as a transitional government handed power over to an elected parliament, which voters chose to replace with another elected parliament.

As of yet, these changes have failed to promote peace in Libya. Living conditions continue to decline as civil war ensues and strains local resources. The causes of poverty in Libya are difficult to combat, yet there is still an opportunity for peace to be found.

– Jennifer Faulkner

Photo: Flickr

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Water Quality in Libya: A Country’s Most Precious Resource


As a primarily desert country, Libya is a place where clean water is one of the most valuable commodities, used for agricultural production and human consumption. Increased levels of pollution from oil drilling and the salt water contamination of natural aquifers, however, have strained the water quality in Libya and made an already scarce water supply increasingly difficult to attain.

Rising sea levels and increased oil drilling have particularly plagued Libya and exposed its already limited and crucial water supply to pollutants and contamination.

Most of Libya’s water exists in naturally formed aquifers located underneath the country’s vast deserts. The only geographic area to receive more than 100 millimeters of rainfall a year is the coastal region, which accounts for less than 5 percent of Libya’s land area. Because of this, water purity is an increasingly crucial issue.

Since the 1950s, the sea level in Libya has advanced approximately one to two kilometers inland due to global warming and rising ocean levels. The slow move inward has caused a dramatic increase in the salinity of groundwater found in natural aquifers, from 150 parts per million in 1950 to 1,000 parts per million in 1990, according to Rajab M El-Asswad, a professor at Al-Fateh University Tripoli. As a direct consequence, the amount of water available and the water quality in Libya is becoming increasingly stretched.

In addition to limiting the amount of water that can be accessed, the increased salinity of seawater has made the overall process of obtaining water in Libya more expensive due to the need for desalination.

As aquifer water salinity and the need for water increases, the Libyan government must expand its desalinization processes. Unfortunately, desalinization is expensive and may require the diverting of funds necessary to help a nation develop.

Coinciding with the water pollution seen from natural causes like rising sea levels, man-made activities like oil drilling also creates pollution. The increase in standard drilling procedures and techniques such as fracking have exposed the vast natural aquifers to contaminants and chemicals, another negative effect on the water quality in Libya.

As the population of Libya continues to grow and the supply of water slowly declines, increased foreign aid funding becomes more important. Funds could be used to help complete the Great Manmade River Project, which aims to install hydraulic equipment necessary to withdraw and transport water from beneath the desert to high population centers for consumption and agricultural purposes.

Clean water is essential for life and agricultural growth and is necessary for a healthy ecosystem. The issue of water pollution in Libya has devastating effects on the country’s people and ecosystems and is a cause deserving of increased foreign aid.

– Garrett Keyes

Photo: Flickr

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Segregated Education in Libya, Post-Gaddafi

Segregated Education in Libya, Post Gadhafi
The entire culture of Libya has changed since the very public takedown of Moammar Gaddafi during a long battle in 2011. Since then, Libyans have lived through free elections, the collapse of their government and an ongoing civil war. The women of Libya, in particular, have been affected most harshly. Islamization imposed on a formerly modernized religious culture through news laws puts women’s access to education at risk, along with their general freedom in society. This is what you need to know about the current state of segregated education in Libya.

Education for Women Once Was Better
When Gaddafi led the Libyan government as a dictator, there was no segregated education in Libya. Instead, there was unlimited access for women to attend school at all levels. As a result, the number of well-educated women in Libya is higher than elsewhere in the region. An almost equal number of women (32 percent) as men (33 percent) hold university degrees, and almost 77 percent of female high school graduates intend to pursue higher degrees.

As a result of the country’s increased Islamization, women are encouraged to stay at home. Because of increasing violence against women, this is slowly becoming a reality.

Even Elementary Education Is Affected
Education until the ninth grade is compulsory for children in Libya. Before the civil war, roughly one million students attended school, but this year, with the civil war ongoing, around 297,000 children have been unable to attend school.

Schools are also shutting down at alarming rates, transforming into shelters for persons displaced during the war. The city most affected by this is Benghazi. Those schools that remain open lack electricity for long periods of time and their access to sanitation is also lacking.

New Laws Affect Women in Universities
Segregated education in Libya was made possible in 2013 when a school in Derma built a wall in the middle of a university campus to keep men and women apart.

In that same year, new laws made it harder for women achieve a normal schooling experience. A 2013 fatwa announced that women could now attend a university only if they attended schools that were segregated by gender.

Segregated education in Libya also requires that women dress in accordance with Islamic tradition. All women are forced to wear some form of headwear that covers their hair. In April 2014, Libya made headlines when a woman who attended a university did not wear her headscarf and was harassed and abused by a security guard on campus.

Ultimately, only the Libyan government can make it easier for women to attend its universities. But with newly segregated education in Libya, we can only hope that things take a turn for the better in the near future.

– Maria Rodriguez

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts on Healthcare in Libya


Since the Arab Spring, Libya has been a hotbed of division. Ongoing internal conflict, economic stagnation and loss of infrastructure have affected one of the most important sectors: healthcare. Lack of help from the government and an influx of Syrian refugees are increasingly adding to the chaos. Here are 10 facts about the current state of healthcare in Libya.

  1. Prior to the 2011 Arab Spring, Libya had a functioning healthcare system that could fairly support its nation’s citizens. Post-2011, the complete division of the country into multiple governments left the healthcare system extremely underfunded.
  2. Healthcare in Libya before 2011 was mostly facilitated by foreign workers who fled once war broke out. Now, with a nearly decimated healthcare system, foreign workers from universal government organizations like Doctors Without Borders are the main providers of health services in the nation.
  3. In the last six months of 2016 alone, 60 percent of hospitals became inaccessible or closed. Hospitals and clinics have closed because of shortages of resources, including: Shortage of staff with experience, basic medicines such as insulin and basic equipment such as dialysis equipment.
  4. Healthcare in Libya has also become divided in two. East Libya’s government is recognized by the Western World with the capital of Tobruk, but the Western government based in Tripoli is controlled by rebels and the Islamic State.
  5. Mothers are heavily affected by the ongoing civil war in the country. The stress of life during the war has led to numerous miscarriages. Many pregnant women have also become anemic because they cannot access the right foods. Several women have even resorted to staying at home for their births, which has increased the number of deaths for mothers at birth because of lack of sanitation and medical knowledge. The International Medical Corps has set up a midwife and OBGYN pop-up clinic only for pregnant women.
  6. The influx of refugees and asylum seekers entering into Libya add another strain to the already collapsed healthcare system. The lives of all of these people are at risk because of the lack of a functioning asylum system.
  7. According to the World Health Organization, there are about 250,000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Libya. They add to the already displaced 430,000 locals.
  8. Doctors Without Borders has set up seven mobile clinics in Tripoli and its bordering areas. As of December 2016, the organization’s doctors have performed 5,579 medical consultations, meeting with around 500 patients weekly. The consolations focus on infections, diarrhea, skin diseases and urinary tract infections. Many of these infections are caused by the lack of infrastructures caused by the war in the country. About 680,000 people are still in need of help to access clean water and sanitation.
  9. The mobile clinics, though helpful, also have problems of their own. Most do not have enough food to provide for their patients, feeding people by community bowls. Outside of the clinics, people in Libya are also struggling to eat, with 1.2 million people struggling to access food.
  10. Luckily, the World Health Organization has mapped out a Humanitarian Response Plan to improve healthcare in Libya. The plan is comprised of three steps:
    1. Making sure people have access to basic and lifesaving healthcare services;
    2. Reducing communicable diseases and outbreaks;
    3. Strengthening the entire healthcare system to allow hospitals to open up again so more people have access.

It is important to note that although the future of the Libyan government remains unknown, many organizations are coming together to help citizens receive some sort of healthcare. Hopefully, things will begin to look up for healthcare in the nation as a whole.

– Maria Rodriguez

Photo: Flickr

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Top Diseases in Libya


Libya, a country in North Africa, is home to more than six million people. The population employs a variety of careers and activities, such as farming and exporting petroleum. Though the country enjoys a relatively healthy lifestyle, the top diseases in Libya bring much strife to the population.

Communicable Diseases

Communicable diseases like influenza, hepatitis and dysentery contribute to a large portion of the mortality rates in Libya, especially in the rural areas where people do not have access to clean water and sanitation. Also, the closure of primary healthcare centers has only furthered the effect of these diseases on the population.

Another one of the top diseases in Libya is malaria. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria is transmitted to humans when they are bitten by female mosquitoes. Parasites then multiply in the liver and attack red blood cells, causing damage to vital organs.

Non-Communicable Diseases

Non-communicable diseases also play a big part when it comes to the top diseases in Libya, and the closure of health centers has not helped slow the effect of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the country.

According to the WHO, the closure of these health centers is mainly war-related, caused by the shortage of funds and damage done by fighting. Those who try to treat their ailments often turn to “overburdened hospitals,” and the treatments can be ineffective.

Interestingly, communicable diseases were not on the list of top diseases in Libya until conflict began in the country. This was because most of the country had good water and sanitation systems. Furthermore, nonprofit organizations and health centers had a large percentage of the population covered in terms of vaccination.

The Libyan civil war began in 2014, and the lack of a control system caused the downfall of the country’s health system. For the most part, Libya had many of its biggest diseases under control with the help of vaccinations, health programs and volunteers from a nonprofit organization providing information on proper sanitary methods. Since the Libyan Civil War, however, many of these supporters have lost their hold in the region, and the population has paid the price.

In order to decrease the prevalence of the top diseases in Libya, the country has to pay more attention to programs that can benefit its citizens. The shortage of staff and supplies may put the health system in the country at further risk if nothing is done.

Informational programs about vaccination, proper sanitary methods and staying safe during the conflict is necessary for those who are currently suffering. Also, refilling the stocks of essential medical supplies will prove to be a big help to the country. Once the above goals are met, the country will be better situated to get back on track in terms of health.

– Jacqueline Artz

Photo: Flickr

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Refugee Child Abuse in Libya

Libya
A recent United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) study titled A Deadly Journey for Children: The Central Mediterranean Migration Route, surveyed migrant women and children in Libya making their way to Europe. Refugee children leaving war and poverty are being mentally and physically abused, sexually assaulted and starved.

Last September, it was estimated that 256,000 migrants were in Libya, 11 percent of whom were women and nine percent of whom were children. A third of these children were unaccompanied. However, these figures are estimations and the actual statistics are assumed to be much higher.

About 70 percent of migrants traveling through Africa to Europe experience some type of exploitation, according to an October International Organization for Migration (IOM) survey. Last year, nine of out 10 children who used the Central Mediterranean Migration Route arrived in Europe unaccompanied. Nearly 26,000 children made the journey in 2016, which is twice the number of children from the previous year. Unaccompanied children are more prone to different types of abuse, trafficking and exploitation.

UNICEF staff members in Libya have documented many cases of refugee child abuse over time. Three-quarters of the children interviewed in the survey said they had experienced some type of violence from an adult. A majority of the children had experienced emotional abuse, with girls reporting higher rates than boys. Some children also said that they had to rely on smugglers, which resulted in other types of abuse like trafficking.

Amid the refugee child abuse shown in this study, UNICEF has created a six-part plan that they want governments and the European Union to adopt. The UNICEF Agenda for Action is comprised of the following goals:

  1. Protect child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.
  2. End the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.
  3. Keep families together as the best way to protect children and give them legal status.
  4. Keep all refugee and migrant children learning and give them access to health and other quality services.
  5. Press for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.
  6. Promote measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization in countries of transit and destination.

UNICEF spokesperson Sarah Crowe told Al Jazeera, “We need to work on finding a solution to the root causes of the problem and we need to do more to support children at every step of the way.”

– Shannon Elder

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Hunger in Libya

Hunger in Libya
Located in northern Africa, the arid country of Libya is known for its large oil reserves and sweeping desert. However, conflict has left the country with a largely displaced population and economic troubles that have fostered food scarcity. Here are 10 facts about hunger in Libya.

10 Facts About Hunger in Libya

  1. Poverty is a key cause of hunger in Libya. Of Libya’s 6.4 million people, 40 percent live below the poverty line.
  2. Economists say Libya is affected by a resource curse. Libya is home to vast quantities of oil, but also to high rates of poverty. This disparity between resource wealth and citizen poverty can be caused by conflict or government control of resources.
  3. Conflict is one of the leading causes of hunger. Approximately 21 percent of the world’s undernourished people are affected by conflict. This is especially relevant in Libya, where roughly 90 percent of the population is affected by violence.
  4. The conflict has cut income per capita in Libya by half in the past two years. It has decreased food availability and increased prices.
  5. Internally displaced people (IDPs) are especially vulnerable to hunger. Due to the conflict, the number of IDPs in Libya has increased. Around 17 percent of IDPs are food insecure, an 11 percent increase since 2015. Overall, 60 percent of IDPs are vulnerable to food shortage.
  6. Many social programs have been shut down due to instability. As a result, families who relied on them are suffering even more.
  7. Hunger in Libya is worsened by a healthcare shortage, as there are fewer than 1500 primary healthcare facilities in the country. This makes it difficult for families suffering from hunger-related diseases to receive the care they need. The shortage also results in higher health care prices, which puts futher financial strain on families.
  8. In order to combat hunger, many families in Libya practice negative coping strategies. These include reducing the number of meals they have each day and cutting back on other necessary expenses such as healthcare.
  9. Hunger in Libya has an impact on child development. Stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height) affects 21 and four percent of children under five, respectively.
  10. The World Food Programme and the rest of the U.N. run an emergency operation in order to help combat hunger in Libya. Due to conflict, however, the organization runs the program from Tunisia and coordinates with local groups to deliver food to people in Libya.

While food insecurity remains a problem in Libya, increasing food aid to the country and continuing talks to improve the political climate may help reduce hunger in Libya.

– Alexi Worley

Photo: Flickr

Defeat of ISIS Could Mean Better Healthcare for Libyan Citizens

Libyan
The United States declared it carried out a series of airstrikes on the Libyan city of Sirte, an ISIS stronghold, at the request of the Libyan government in August 2016.

The strikes came after nearly two years of concentrated efforts by the U.S. and Libyan governments to remove ISIS from Sirte; a strategically important city located directly between two of Libya’s largest cities, Benghazi and Tripoli.

The erasure of ISIS’s presence from Sirte means the city’s residents will be able to enjoy a higher standard of living, increased access to food and fuel and control of their incomes. Reclaiming the city from ISIS also means that healthcare in Libya will be one step closer to returning to pre-2011 standards.

Regaining control of Sirte will allow the Libyan government and certain NGOs, such as Doctors Without Borders, to begin safely providing much-needed healthcare services to the city’s residents.

Healthcare providers in Libya will be able to distribute resources across the country more evenly as they are needed, especially between Benghazi and Tripoli.

On a more significant level, overcoming the ISIS presence in Libya will remove one of the larger issues that the country has had to contend with during its rebuilding process, which has been ongoing since the country experienced a wave of revolutionary action during the Arab Spring in 2011.

Currently, the country lacks a central government as numerous opposing factions emerged after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.

A U.N.-backed entity known as the Government of National Accord recently made the most significant strides in uniting the country. They will undoubtedly find the task easier with ISIS’s removal.

A successfully unified government would likely see the return of a functioning and well-equipped healthcare system; something that the country has been sorely lacking since 2011.

According to Doctors Without Borders, many hospitals have been forced to close in recent years due to lack of funds, lack of staff members and concerns about security.

A fully functioning government would be able to solve the coordination problems currently preventing the distribution of funds and supplies.

They would be also able to effectively provide secure environments for hospitals and healthcare providers to safely operate.

More funds, supplies and increased security would allow for the return of foreign-born healthcare workers, many of whom left in the wake of 2011 upheaval.

– Will Clifft

Photo: Flickr

Seven Facts About Poverty in Libya

Poverty in Libya

Prior to Muammar Gaddafi’s assassination, Libya was a thriving African nation. However, since then, the country has been trapped in an ongoing civil war, and poverty in Libya has increased.

  1. Before Gaddafi’s assassination, Libya had the highest GDP per capita and life expectancy of all African countries. According to Global Research, Libya actually had fewer people living in poverty than the Netherlands.
  2. Oil was the main driving force behind Libya’s economy, but the events of the past five years led to a slump in production. According to CNN, Libya extracted nearly 1.6 million barrels per day in 2010. In 2011, the year that Gaddafi was killed, production declined more than threefold.
  3. According to the CIA, Libya’s GDP declined by 49 percent because the Libyan government continued to provide salaries and subsidies to the workforce despite the lack of oil funds.
  4. Libya has received the largest number of African migrants trying to escape to Europe. According to CNN, about 700,000 to 1 million migrants were in Libya at the beginning of August 2016.
  5. Libya has successfully established a unified authority, called the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is supported by the United Nations. While the GNA still faces some opposition, it received majority support from Libya’s House of Representatives. Since its inception, the GNA has attempted to bring two formerly opposing factions, the House of Representatives and the Libya Dawn coalition, back together.
  6. The United Nations Security Council extended the activity of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) until December 15, 2016. UNSMIL was formed to help Libya solidify the legitimacy of its unified government, and the increased duration of the program will hopefully allow that goal to be achieved more quickly and peacefully.
  7. A rival government in Libya called the National Salvation Government stepped down last April in order to stop future violence. This development furthered the GNA’s goal of establishing itself as the sole authority in Libya.

Many of these factors have helped perpetuate poverty in Libya. However, though the situation in Libya appears bleak, some positive development has taken place with the GNA being established as a major power.

– Edmond Kim

Photo: Flickr

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Why Are Libyan Refugees Drowning at Sea?

Why Are Libyan Refugees Drowning At Sea?-TBP
The distance from Benghazi to Sigonella, Sicily is 470 miles. On a small and inefficient fishing boat, that could be two to three weeks at sea. Ahmad, like all Libyan refugees, must be ready to endure an extremely dangerous voyage upon a vessel crammed over capacity. He must be ready to not have adequate water and food as he and many others navigate the perilous waves and winds of the Mediterranean Sea. In the back of his mind, he is aware that he may drown, like the 800 Libyan refugees in April of 2015 when their over-packed fishing boat capsized.

Yet, he is willing to make the sacrifice for a supposedly better life. So why are he and countless other Libyan refugees willing to drown at sea for this trip? The answer is not simply due to political violence and warring factions that fight for control of precious resources and cities. The situation is far more complex, but one of the main reasons is the inadequate aid that Libya’s health and educational systems are receiving after NATO’s military intervention in 2011.

In 2010, barring debates of human rights violations, Libya was considered an economic jewel of Northern Africa. Life expectancy was higher than anywhere else in Africa and the Middle East. Children between the ages of one and two years of age had a 98% immunization rate against measles, and 97% of the population had access to improved sanitation facilities.

Education was another bright spot for the nation. Women’s education was the most progressive in Northern Africa, where over 50% of university enrollment were women. According to data from the United Nations, primary-secondary enrollment ratio (female/male per 100) between 2006 and 2012 was 112.5 to 106.0.

Today, the educational system in Libya is in complete shambles. A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson explained that one of the main areas of concern for Benghazi was the closure of over 60 schools and universities. Instead of teaching, many of the schools are now public housing for displaced Libyans. As the next generation becomes uneducated, they are more likely to join extremist groups in hopes of achieving work and status.

The lack of access to medical treatment is taking its toll on the country’s vulnerable population. In a World Health Organization (WHO) report from January 2015, Libya’s hospitals are overburdened with internally displaced persons (IDPs). There is an increasing strain on Emergency Medical Services (including obstetric care) and insufficient capacity of health services to cope with increasing numbers requiring emergency healthcare due to decreased staff numbers.

On top of the lack of staff and facilities, there is a significant risk of transmission of communicable disease (TB, HIV and possibly Ebola) through the thousands of illegal immigrants passing through Libya. The report also states that there is “an increased possibility of outbreaks (especially measles) due to the recent displacement and the disruption of the primary health care network in the main cities.”

Since the start of the year, there are an estimated 150,000 refugees migrating to Europe. That number is only likely to increase.

Countries such as Italy and Greece have been overwhelmed by the majority of refugees. On June 14 of this year, the Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi addressed the European Union (EU) insisting that “Europe’s answers have so far have not been good enough.” He urges the EU to aid in setting up refugee processing camps in Libya to help with the relocation process.

This is, however, not enough, as processing camps will eventually become overwhelmed with escaping refugees. More aid is needed to address the growing needs of the Libyan people. In March, WHO delivered medical supplies to help serve 250,000 people. The aid was donated by Italy and the Central Emergency Response Fund.

On May 21, the United Nations hunger relief agency delivered ten trucks with food and humanitarian relief. In conjunction with the World Food Programme, they aim to provide life-saving assistance to over 243,000 IDPs over the course of six months. Unfortunately, no aid was delivered in March and April due to lack of funding, and another $14 million is needed to ensure the food operation continues uninterrupted.

The United States and its allies must send foreign aid to Libya for the rebuilding of the health and education systems. Libya is slowly heading down the same path as Iraq and Syria. If no aid is sent, the migration pressure on Europe will become too strenuous, eventually affecting that region. If the Libyan people are not assisted and more take to the seas, the economic conditions will further worsen in Europe, which in turn, will not bode well for the United States.

– Adnan Khalid

Sources: Centre for Research on Globalization, Free Map Tools, The Guardian, UN Data, UN 1, UN 2 UN Refugee Agency, WHO 1, WHO 2, World Bank
Photo: Esquire