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Updates on SDG 2 in Pakistan Amid Floods

Updates on SDG 2 in Pakistan
In 2015, U.N. Member States adopted the  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. These goals provide a “blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.” The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development forms a holistic plan to combat poverty, inequalities, poor health care, extreme weather patterns and more. SDG 2, in particular, aims for zero hunger. With extreme climatic conditions globally and the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, food insecurity levels are rising. As of September 2, 2022, floods in Pakistan have led to water submerging a third of the nation. Almost 1,200 people have died and 3,500 people have faced injuries. Pakistan’s floods have affected 33 million people and 6.6 million of these people face severe impacts. Updates on SDG 2 in Pakistan provide insight into the impacts of the floods on the nation’s progress toward zero hunger.

Updates on SDG 2 In Pakistan: Deteriorating Conditions

Around the globe, SDG progress reduced in 2021 due to slow economic recovery in low- and middle-income countries and the impacts of extreme weather conditions. Pakistan, being both a low-income country and a nation with vulnerability to climatic disasters, lags behind in terms of SDG progress. In 2021, Pakistan ranked 125 out of 163 on the SDGs index and had a score of 59.3, which is lower than the region’s average of 65.9.

One of the updates on SDG 2 in Pakistan is that, especially amid the Russia-Ukraine war, food insecurity has burdened an already struggling economy. The recent floods have exacerbated food insecurity in Pakistan.

Significantly higher rainfall has negatively impacted agricultural lands and livestock as well as transport infrastructure, reducing food access and raising food prices. As of September 22, 2022, 755,000 livestock had died nationwide and 1.9 million people are in need of food and agricultural aid. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humanitarian Advisory Team also estimates that “73% of households in areas of flooding have inadequate resources to buy food.” Exacerbated food insecurity means Pakistan has taken a step backward in SDG 2 progress.

The Progress

However, not everything is ill-boding: Pakistan’s overall score on the SDGs index rose from 52.95 in 2015 to 63.10 in 2020, indicating significant progress. On a positive note, one of the updates on SDG 2 in Pakistan is that the nation saw an increase of “28.2[%] from the baseline” in several goals, including zero hunger, from 2015 to 2020.

In 2018, Pakistan’s government started working with the World Food Programme (WFP) to implement programs to reduce hunger across the nation in order to make progress toward SDG 2. These efforts include supplying food and nutrition aid after disasters to the most vulnerable groups through cash and food transfers. In 2019, the United Nations Human Settlement Programme started working with the Pakistani government to “restrict conversion of prime agricultural land into other uses.”

In September 2022, OCHA reported that the “lead agencies in food security and the agricultural sector” have supplied “food assistance and livelihood support” for around 410,000 people in Pakistan’s most flood-affected provinces.

Pakistan’s government also took immediate action to aid flood-affected households: $173 million in cash transfers to 1.5 million households. With the help of the U.N., Pakistan “launched a multisectoral flood response” initiative to assist 5.2 million individuals for at least six months. This program includes an agenda to restore livelihoods dependent on crops and livestock.

Looking Ahead

In response to the extreme weather patterns, in May 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif created a task force focused on mitigating the effects of the adverse weather and had a meeting in August 2022 on the swift “implementation of climate adaptation policies.” The prime minister acknowledged the urgency of the situation in a tweet once the meeting ended: “Gone are the days when climate change was the subject of drawing room discussions. It is affecting our everyday life. Food and water security [are] directly linked to climate hazards.”

In order to ensure Pakistan’s progress in SDG 2 and other goals, mitigating the effects of climatic hazards is key as is strengthening the country’s resilience to shocks.

– Samyukta Gaddam
Photo: Flickr

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Foreign Aid to Syria (Syrian Arab Republic)

Foreign Aid to Syria
Syria, a country once a destination known for its breathtaking scenery and rich culture, remains devastated by a decade-plus long civil war. The Syrian civil war, which began as a peaceful uprising in 2011, has led to about half a million deaths as of 2022. The conflict occurs between the Syrian government, rebel groups, the Islamic State (IS) and foreign countries —  some that side with the government and others that side with the rebel groups. Unfortunately, more than 11 years of intense fighting have taken its toll on the approximately 17.5 million people who live in Syria today. Many international organizations have committed to giving foreign aid to Syria as the vast majority of Syrians require foreign aid for their survival. Crucially, violence and destruction within the country affect the impoverished most severely.

The Need for Aid

According to a March 2022 report provided by the United Nations (U.N.) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), today, about 90% of Syrians live in poverty and more than 80% endure food insecurity. Access to food security, sanitation and health care has become a major issue as a consequence of the civil war. Foreign aid to Syria seeks to combat many of these issues.

According to USAID, roughly 75% of Syrians today are specifically in need of humanitarian foreign aid. Aid can come in the form of food, health care supplies or other basic commodities. The U.N. suggests that cross-border aid, which includes helping people cross the border and transporting aid directly into the country, must remain active. In late May of 2022, the U.N. Syria Commission called on the Security Council to ensure that the border remains open so that organizations can provide the necessary aid.

Currently, there is only one authorized border crossing into Syria, known as Bab al-Hawa, between Northwest Syria and Turkey. Foreign aid requires this crossing to be open so that goods and services can reach the country. Moreover, the U.N. estimates that nearly 15 million people across the country rely on foreign aid. In certain parts of the country, the number of people receiving aid can be even higher, particularly in more conflict-riddled regions.

Of the many forms in which aid can come, food and health care are the most typical and most vital. Food prices are rising while food availability diminishes. Foreign aid can be partially helpful in bringing food supplies to people who either do not have adequate access to food or cannot afford it.

Suppliers of Aid

The largest suppliers of foreign aid to Syria are the European Commission, part of the European Union (EU), which has supplied more than $140 million so far in 2022, and the United States, which gave nearly $15 billion from 2012 to 2022. In addition, the United Nations plays a large role in the delivery of aid to Syria. The U.N.’s food-assistance branch, the World Food Programme (WFP), estimates that 5.6 million Syrians receive aid from the WFP monthly. The process of bringing foreign aid to Syria is a worldwide effort, yet challenges remain severe.

Challenges

The EU’s European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations stated that civilian attacks and attacks on hospitals thwart international aid efforts. Limited access to the country combined with precarious and violent conditions once inside present challenges in transporting aid. The widespread and persistent issues that the Syrian people face, including recurring displacement, make foreign aid even more difficult to circulate. Another challenge is that violence and disturbances in other parts of the world, such as in Ukraine at the moment, place Syria in a somewhat less visible role on the international stage. In particular, a shortage of products, such as oil and wheat from Ukraine, has caused disruptions in Syrian aid programs.

Moving Forward

The current exception, which allows aid to cross the Bab al-Hawa border in Northwest Syria, the last open border into Syria, is set to expire on July 10, 2022. That border opening is a result of a rare policy exception that the U.N. Security Council issued in 2014, which contradicted the Syrian government’s wish to not have foreign interference in Syria. The Security Council resolution required the border at Bab al-Hawa to remain open, which has brought necessary aid to Syria for the past eight years.

Many international organizations, including the U.N. and the EU, believe that this channel is necessary for aid to make its way into Syria. The U.N. Security Council needs to vote to extend the exception before the July deadline to ensure that aid can reach the Syrians in need. Those tracking foreign aid to Syria are hopeful that, if the resolution is extended, the border will continue operating at the status quo and aid will continue to cross the northwest border.

– Lara Drinan
Photo: Flickr

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The Sahel’s Rising Food Insecurity and Poverty

Sahel’s Rising Food Insecurity
The Sahel is a semi-arid region in Africa that comprises countries such as Cameroon, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental disasters and the high cost of food as a result of the Ukraine-Russia war have contributed to the Sahel’s rising food insecurity and poverty. On May 20, 2022, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that, over the following three months, 18 million people living in the Sahel region will be “on the edge of severe hunger.” This warning prompted a strong international response from wealthier countries to provide financial and food aid to the Sahel region.

African heads of state convened a regional summit on May 27, 2022, “to address growing humanitarian needs on the continent.” The heads identified violent extremism, military coups and environmental challenges as the main contributors to the Sahel’s rising food insecurity and poverty. Non-African countries, such as the United States, are also addressing the Sahel crisis by providing food aid through government-run development programs in the Sahel. The U.N. and its agencies are also tackling rising poverty in the Sahel through financial assistance and food delivery.

Specific Issues for People Living in the Sahel Region

The Sahel’s rising food insecurity and poverty have led to devastating human costs such as “high levels of acute malnutrition” and “large gaps” in food consumption within households. Furthermore, because the cost of living has increased dramatically, families in the Sahel are now selling their own household items, such as farm tools, in order to afford food and other essential items. As a result of the rising food costs, environmental disasters and violence, the number of Africans pushed into food poverty in the Sahel is increasing. For example, in the Sahel, 1.8 million children suffer malnourishment. Without intervention, this could increase to 2.4 million by the close of 2022.

Regional Solutions to Addressing Sahel’s Food Insecurity and Poverty

The African Union (AU) has declared 2022 the AU’s Year of Nutrition and held the “Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference” on May 27, 2022. The main goal of the summit is to address malnutrition in the African region, which “causes significant long-term consequences for physical, mental, cognitive and physiological development.” UNICEF has been urging African governments to tackle a wide range of issues, such as “inadequate maternal nutrition” and “high incidence of childhood illnesses.”

How Wealthier Countries are Tackling Sahel’s Poverty Crisis

On May 18, 2022, the United States announced that it will allocate $215 million to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to tackle food insecurity globally. This includes tackling the Sahel’s rising food insecurity and poverty, with food assistance going to countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Nigeria. USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will “program the full balance” of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, a grain and food reserve within USAID, “as part of an effort to provide $670 million in food assistance” to the Sahel countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan.

Assistance from International Organizations and UN Agencies

The U.N. is approaching Sahel’s rising food insecurity and poverty as an international emergency situation. On May 20, 2022, OCHA delivered $30 million in emergency funds to four countries in the Sahel to address malnutrition and hunger. OCHA gave Burkina Faso $6 million and Chad, Mali and Niger received $8 million each. Prior to this recent contribution, OCHA had delivered $4 million to Mauritania and $15 million to Nigeria earlier in 2022.

The swift international response to Sahel’s rising food insecurity and poverty illustrates the potential of the international community to eliminate global poverty. Despite the massive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war on providing humanitarian assistance, the U.N. has managed to allocate enough funds to combat starvation in the Sahel. The United States has increased its funding for global food security operations in the Sahel and made the situation one of its top foreign policy priorities. All of this proves that the international community continues to act on food insecurity and poverty, even in the most vulnerable places in the world. This makes global poverty reduction a reachable goal, creating hope for disadvantaged countries.

– Abdullah Dowaihy
Photo: Flickr

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Residents of Goma Return After Volcano Erupts

Residents of GomaOn May 22, 2021, Mount Nyiragongo erupted close to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s city of Goma. The active volcano’s worst eruption was in 1977, a catastrophe that left more than 600 people dead. Nyiragongo’s volcanic activities have ignited fear in the residents of Goma who are already enduring the impacts of poverty stemming from years of civil war in the country.

The 2021 Volcanic Eruption

The Goma Volcano Observatory is responsible for monitoring the Mount Nyiragongo volcano. However, ever since the World Bank cut its funding in 2020, the observatory “lacked the funding, resources and infrastructure necessary to closely observe the volcano and forecast major eruptions.” From October 2020 to April 2021, the observatory did not have an internet connection “to conduct comprehensive seismic checks on Nyiragongo.” Due to a lack of forecasting ability, the observatory could not predict the eruption and warn residents to evacuate.

Following a government directive, after the eruption, the residents of Goma were evacuated in the thousands. Villagers who lived close to the city of Goma fled to the city center. The lava flowing out of the mountain’s crater threatened access to the airport in Goma and one of the main roads, further limiting evacuation routes.

The Devastation of the Eruption

According to ReliefWeb, the eruption resulted in about 30 deaths and almost half a million people were left without access to water due to damaged water infrastructure. Without proper water sources, people are prone to infectious water-borne diseases. Some citizens were burned by the lava and others experienced asphyxiation from volcanic gases. ReliefWeb reported that about “415,700 people have been displaced across several localities in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and across the border in Rwanda.” Aside from the destruction of infrastructure that occurred, people converging in large numbers to evacuate heightened the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The Positive Impact of Organizations

Despite the devastation caused by the volcanic eruption, various groups were quick in their response, preventing further disaster. ReliefWeb provided frequent updates on the situation, enabling organizations and individuals to take precautionary and calculated steps during evacuation.

The UNHCR was among the first organizations to respond to the volcanic eruption in Goma. The organization, in collaboration with others, looked to aid the displaced in Goma by providing shelter and relief items. Reduced funding significantly impacted these efforts. Nevertheless, the UNHCR provided “soap, blankets, solar lamps, plastic sheeting and sleeping mats to 435 vulnerable families,” in the Congolese town of Sake. The UNHCR also established four shelters to temporarily house more than 400 displaced people in Sake. On June 7, 2021, the prime minister of the DRC “announced the progressive return of displaced people to Goma.”

Residents of Goma Return Home

Displaced citizens have gradually returned to resettle in Goma. In early June 2021, the prime minister of the DRC spearheaded the phased return of thousands of people as seismic activity reduced considerably. The government provided buses to help people return to Goma. The government also declared the airport safe for landing, which further facilitated the delivery of international humanitarian aid.

Slowly, the city is returning to normalcy. Businesses are reopening and vendors are back on the streets of the city. The groups of people who took refuge in Rwanda also returned. Thousands of people have returned home to rebuild their lives and reconstruct the areas destroyed by lava flow.

Even in unprecedented natural disasters, organizations can help to avert worst-case scenarios. From the volcanic eruption, it is clear to see how funding cuts can lead to severe consequences. The situation has emphasized the importance of funding to the Goma Volcano Observatory and the significance of early warning systems.

– Frank Odhiambo
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of COVID-19 On Poverty in Venezuela

The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Venezuela 
The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Venezuela has been significant in regard to food security and medical care, but food shortages and malnutrition were already rampant between 2015 and 2017 in Venezuela. By the end of 2018, wholesale prices doubled nearly every 19 days due to inflation. More than 3.4 million Venezuelans migrated in search of more stability and opportunity.

In response to these issues, Venezuelans protested against the authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, in 2019. The outbreak of protests demanded a new constitution addressing issues related to economic instability and medical care. Then, on March 13, 2020, the first COVID-19 case occurred in Venezuela.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Venezuela, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 250,309 confirmed cases and 2,814 deaths. The impact of COVID-19 on Venezuela compounded on preexisting humanitarian issues of economic instability, health and food insecurity. In response, nonprofit organizations and international government organizations began providing aid to people in vulnerable situations in Venezuela.

Life Before the Pandemic

Prior to the spread of the coronavirus, Venezuela’s economy experienced a debt of higher than $150 billion. In addition, the GDP shrunk by roughly two-thirds, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Due to this, Venezuela experienced the highest poverty rates in Latin America, affecting 96% of the people. These issues resulted in a lack of essential products such as medical care, potable water, food and gasoline.

Health Security in Venezuela

In the past five years, over 50% of doctors and nurses emigrated from Venezuela to escape economic instability. This is according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A declining health system was unable to provide aid for infectious disease, malnutrition and infant mortality. As a result, the spread of COVID-19 resulted in heavily populated hospitals with minimal resources.

Without adequate pay and protection for medical professionals, as well as a shortage of potable water and protective medical gear, Venezuela’s hospitals experienced difficulty in responding to COVID-19. According to WHO, around 3.4% of confirmed COVID-19 cases resulted in death. WHO predicts this number to be much higher in Venezuela. This is because the country’s hospitals lack basic X-rays, laboratory tests, intensive care beds and respirators.

In response to these issues, the National Academy of Medicine in Venezuela, a politically independent medical organization, sought to reduce the impact of the pandemic on existing health care systems. The Academy made a request to the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, James Story, on May 2, 2021, for the U.S. to add Venezuela to its international donor list for millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccinations. Venezuela already received around 1.4 million vaccines from China and Russia.

However, the National Academy of Venezuela stated that to control the pandemic, the country needs to vaccinate 70% of the adult population. The vaccines they received represent less than 10% of what Venezuela needs.

Food Insecurity During the Pandemic

At the end of 2020, with exports at a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, food inflation rose to 1,700%, resulting in a significant increase in food prices. As a result of inflation and international sanctions, the WFP also projected that Venezuela will experience a slow recovery to intensifying humanitarian issues, including food insecurity.

The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Venezuela has resulted in 65% of families experiencing the inability to purchase food because of the hyperinflation of food products and inadequate income. In order to survive while experiencing food shortages, families in Venezuela reduced the variety of food and portion sizes of meals.

However, those in vulnerable positions, such as children, pregnant women, those with preexisting health conditions and the elderly, experienced malnutrition because of the inability to meet nutritional needs. The World Food Program (WFP) estimated that one of every three people in Venezuela is food insecure. During the pandemic, those experiencing food insecurity continued to increase. The U.N. reported that prior to the pandemic, one in four elderly people, a demographic that maintained the majority of wealth in Venezuela, skipped meals. During the pandemic, more than four in 10 have been skipping meals.

Humanitarian Response to the Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Venezuela

In 2020, the U.N. developed the Venezuela Humanitarian Response Plan, which seeks to provide 4.5 million adults and children throughout Venezuela with access to humanitarian assistance, according to OCHA. The plan requires $762.5 million to provide health care, water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, shelter and educational support. The plan carries out objectives of providing emergency relief, improving access to basic services and providing protection for the most vulnerable in Venezuela, especially during the pandemic.

Over 129 humanitarian organizations, including agencies associated with the U.N., will implement the Humanitarian Response Plan in Venezuela. It has already responded to emergency relief to COVID-19 and led to the return of tens of thousands of Venezuelan refugees, according to OCHA.

Throughout 2020, the U.N. received $130 million in support of this Humanitarian Plan. This allows humanitarian organizations to reach 3.3 million vulnerable people in Venezuela with basic necessities. This will include humanitarian assistance, per OCHA’s report. Additionally, the Plan allowed for 1.4 million people to receive humanitarian assistance in response to COVID-19.

The global pandemic and humanitarian issues are continuing in Venezuela, leading to a necessity for improved food security and medical care. As a result, throughout 2020, the United Nations, as well as humanitarian organizations, increased their presence in Venezuela. They will continue to encourage additional humanitarian organizations to provide humanitarian aid.

– Amanda Frese
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Understanding Disability and Poverty in Afghanistan

Disability and Poverty in AfghanistanEvery day, people all throughout Afghanistan face not only the public health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic but also a lack of accessibility to food, employment and a sense of stability. A study by Jean-Francois Trani and Washington University in St. Louis discussed how challenges like these may lead to both increased poverty and increased disability. They also identified how disability and poverty may overlap or compound the suffering of individuals. Here is some information about the link between disability and poverty in Afghanistan.

Challenges for Children in Afghanistan

In an environment with varying challenges, illness, injury, neglect and malnourishment can lead to lifelong health concerns and disability for children. Likewise, the chronic stress of struggling to sustain the life of a family in the midst of violence and trauma may also lead to debilitating psychiatric conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. This is the crisis of disability and poverty in Afghanistan.

Mothers and grandmothers like Haji Rizva (only identified by the first name for her safety), struggle to feed their children. She thinks specifically of her 18-month-old granddaughter, Parvana, who had been constantly vomiting and too weak to move for days. “We didn’t have enough to feed her,” Haji Rizva told NPR while waiting in the ward for malnourished children at Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. “Sometimes we only have tea for two, three days. We don’t even have bread.”

Around the same time, and in the same city, fathers like Kahn Wali Kamran told the Associated Press that they fear finding their young children dead when they return home from work each day. With a surge in large bombings, targeted killings and other forms of crime (including armed robbery and kidnapping for ransom), the future appears increasingly dangerous and uncertain.

The Link Between Disability and Poverty in Afghanistan

The Asia Foundation studies suggest that 17% of Afghan citizens suffer from some form of disability and 8.9% have severe impairments and are dependent on others. Additionally, after decades of uninterrupted conflict, the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) noted that despite the lack of comprehensive study and measurement of mental health in such a volatile region, it conservatively estimated that more than half of the population suffers from some form of depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Halfway across the world, Trani’s 2012 study examining the links between poverty and disability using data from Afghanistan and Zambia has become relevant once again. The study noted that it is logical that disabled individuals may be more likely to be poor, as they have a higher cost of living, and a diminished ability to perform certain tasks, especially those they may require for employment. People with PTSD may be unable to complete tasks, communicate effectively and stay calm, making it harder to acquire and maintain employment. However, poverty and disability as concepts are difficult to define, as they both take many dimensions into consideration.

Defining Poverty

Generally, the amount of income a household earns determines poverty status, and what necessary commodities that the family in that household would be able to acquire. However, because all households have different needs and expenses, this is an unreliable measurement. Instead, the capability to live in a state of well-being, and have a reasonable life expectancy, quality nourishment and shelter, basic education and access to health care should be factors when considering poverty. Trani noted that low income is a cause of poverty, not the definition of poverty. In this way, violence, too, is a cause of poverty, and so is disability.

This creates an unforgiving cycle that allows both poverty and disability to increase in prevalence. When a person is in poverty, like Kamran or Haji Rizva, they are unable to provide basic necessities for themselves and their families. Without proper shelter and protection, Kamran’s children are more likely to suffer severe injury, potentially leading to lifelong physical disability. Likewise, without proper nutrition, Parvana and other kids like her are less likely to grow and develop properly leading to weakened muscles, bones and organ systems. Poverty, in this case, causes injury. Injury then causes disability. This lowers employment opportunities, causing disabled individuals to fall further into poverty, putting them at greater risk of traumatic stress, further injury and other sufferings. This is the cycle of poverty and disability that has captured Afghanistan for decades.

The Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan

Fortunately, OCHA has recently updated its ongoing Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan to take greater action to help marginalized groups through the violence and the pandemic.

“Given the scale of vulnerability in Afghanistan, this effort will be guided by a range of both new and well-established technical working groups focused on gender, disability inclusion, gender-based violence (GBV), child protection, accountability to affected people (AAP) and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA)” wrote Parvathy Ramaswani in the plan’s updated introduction.

OCHA Measures

The efforts in regards to the pandemic will be largely consistent with others around the world, introducing sanitation protocols and vaccine distribution to the best of their ability, as reducing the spread of the pandemic will naturally provide relief to people caught in the poverty-disability cycle. As in developed countries, people with preexisting conditions are much more likely to develop complications from COVID-19 like pneumonia, infection and organ system failure. This could affect various disabilities that people develop from genetic conditions, malnutrition, previous infections and other injuries. Physical disability is quite prevalent in Afghanistan, so complications and deaths are also a greater concern than in some other areas.

From a psychiatric disability standpoint, the response plan is more targeted, directing resources and funding to local hospitals and clinics to seek out trauma patients who have not received adequate treatment prior to 2021. “With the volatile security situation creating higher trauma needs and associated disabilities, secondary trauma care continues to be a critical need,” the report noted. OCHA will continue to monitor the mental health of citizens closely through 2021, trying to care for those it missed in previous psychiatric treatment initiatives.

Help is on the way for people like Haji Rizva and Kamran, to prevent them and their children from developing new health concerns or complications from COVID-19. The OCHA response plan aims to reach 86% or more of the existing disabled population in Afghanistan.

– Anika Ledina
Photo: Flickr

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Indigenous Poverty in Guatemala

Indigenous PovertyGuatemala is one of Latin America’s most unequal countries, with an indigenous population that has been especially impacted by COVID-19. Indigenous groups make up more than 40% of Guatemala’s population, which equates to more than 6.5 million people. Poverty rates average 79% among indigenous groups, with 35% suffering from food insecurity.

COVID-19 Exacerbates Indigenous Poverty in Guatemala

COVID-19 has only exacerbated the suffering of indigenous Guatemalans. Not only have indigenous families been pushed further into poverty, but reports of gender-based and intrafamily violence, murders and child pregnancies have also increased during Guatemala’s stay-at-home orders, which were intended to control the spread of COVID-19. The only exception to note is that there has been a drop in violent crime since lockdowns were imposed.

Child labor rates have increased, which is a concern since a child’s education is their channel to achieve social mobility and is key to reducing poverty. At the start of the lockdown, remote learning was promoted. However, less than 30% of Guatemala’s population has internet access. Only 21% of the population has access to a computer. In effect, COVID-19 is widening the economic gap between the indigenous population and those in urban Guatemala.

OCHA, the United Nations emergency aid coordination body, reported in April 2020 that seasonal hunger rates have worsened in eastern Guatemala due to lockdown measures. Compared to a year ago, health ministry figures point out that acute malnutrition cases in the department of Chiquimula increased by roughly 56%.

Oxfam Assists Guatemala

Oxfam, a confederation working to alleviate global poverty, has been on the ground in Guatemala, delivering food, sanitary and medical products, particularly to Guatemala’s indigenous communities.  However, Oxfam is working a little differently than in the past due to COVID-19 measures. Instead of risking the spread of the virus by sending outside people in, Oxfam is employing local Guatemalans by transferring credit to their phones and having them collect and distribute two months’ worth of necessary goods to those requiring assistance.

Insufficient Governmental Support

Guatemala’s government offers little help to relieve the effects of COVID-19 in its rural zones. In 2017, a study by the Guatemalan health ministry reported that the government spends fractions of its health budget in its rural zones compared to its wealthiest, urban cities.

The United States has increased its level of deportations under COVID-19-related regulations, leading Guatemala to trace 20% of its infections to those returnees. With the lack of governmental support and social safety nets, many poor Guatemalans are looking to flee the country.

Hopes for an Inclusive Society

Although the indigenous in Guatemala are creating their own solutions, using traditional knowledge and practices to contain COVID-19, the Guatemalan government must treat its indigenous population equally and include those who have been historically excluded by implementing strategies and operations to prevent and contain COVID-19 as well as alleviate its indigenous poverty rates overall.

– Danielle Lindenbaum
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About the Crisis in the Sahel

Crisis in the SahelThe Sahel region of Africa is south of the dry Sahara and north of the humid Sudanian savanna. This tropical, semiarid zone consists of a band of 10 countries and spans 5,900 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. People living in this region have suffered instability and unrest due to issues such as terrorism, climate change and food insecurity. Moreover, COVID-19 has only intensified these problems. Here are five facts to know about the crisis in the Sahel:

5 Facts About the Crisis in the Sahel

  1. Violence in the region is on the rise. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies reported that militant, Islamist group activity and violence in the western Sahel escalated since the middle of 2017, growing nearly seven-fold. Due to inadequate governance and intercommunal violence, 4,404 fatalities were recorded west of Sahel compared with the 770 deaths in 2016. Terrorist attacks forced displacement upon 900,000 people in Burkina Faso alone, where 516 violent attacks occurred in the past three years. Meanwhile, a disputed election and a coup following months of protests currently corrupt conflict-ridden Mali. The region harbors 3.1 million refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and people at risk of statelessness.
  2. Widespread hunger is becoming an increasingly prominent threat. Humanitarian organizations warn of a hunger pandemic in the Sahel. As food insecurity and malnutrition rates continue to soar rapidly, more than 12 million people already lack access to food. Around 10 million additional children could suffer from acute malnutrition and 3 million from protein-energy starvation, due to the exacerbating effects of COVID-19. The U.N. predicts that 5.5 million people will lack access to sufficient food by the end of the year in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
  3. Accessibility to education is declining. School closures affect more than 2.2 million children in the Sahel. In March, 11,500 schools closed or were rendered nonoperational. This left 71 million children without access to education. Although various schools closed due to the COVID-19 lockdown procedures, some institutions forced students out. The forced dispelling, due to attacks and threats from extremists.
  4. Climate change is endangering the country’s physical and economic well-being. A steep environmental decline through rapid desertification, deforestation and water shortages is currently threatening Africa’s Sahel region. Climate changes are causing drought and widespread crop failures in the region. As a consequence, there is a forcible displacement of millions of rural people as they move toward the coasts in search of fertile, farming land.
  5. Uncontrolled population growth is pressuring the region’s resources. Extraordinary population growth challenges the Sahel region. The population in the region will approximately double within 30 years. In some countries, the growth potential is even greater. Niger, for example, could triple the number of its inhabitants in 35–40 years. Moreover, due to high fertility rates and the youngest age structure in the world, many terrorist groups see an opportunity in exploiting the plentiful supply of youth in the Sahel.

A Global Commitment to Change

Due to the displacement crisis in the Sahel, 24 million people — with half of those being children — urgently need access to essential health services. According to OCHA, $2.8 billion would effectively provide aid to these impoverished individuals in the Sahel. An extra $638 million would adequately mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 in the region. The $2.8 million investment would help increase employment and political stability. Furthermore, it would assist refugees and implement new and ongoing programs in the Sahel.

France and the G5 (the five Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad) held a meeting to acknowledge the crisis. The main issues being, instability and terrorist threats pervading the Sahel. The participants committed to a strategy that focuses on combating terrorism and creating sustainable change through institutional reform.

A Final Outlook

The Sahel is the most impoverished region globally and faces challenges from persistent threats. Additionally, COVID-19 threatens to exacerbate previous issues and is estimated to forcibly displace 1 million people across the Sahel region. One surefire way that the Sahel will steadily improve is through support from the U.S. and other nations to fund programs for more effective governance, healthcare and education.

– Isabella Thorpe
Photo: Flickr

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Poverty in Djibouti: A Galvanizing Government Invests in Action

Poverty in Djibouti
The Republic of Djibouti is a small country situated in the Horn of Africa between Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia. The nation is home to nearly one million Djiboutians today, and as many as 42% of them are living in poverty.

A Harsh Climate

The region’s harsh dry climate has exacerbated poverty in Djibouti, especially in rural areas where most practice nomadic farming. While one-third of the population tends to livestock, farming only represents 3% of the annual GDP in Djibouti. Unprofitable farming means Djiboutians rely on imports for nearly 90% of their food and are heavily dependent on variable international market prices. Such dependence coupled with insufficient rains, long droughts and high unemployment rates put many farmers at risk of extreme poverty.

The Effects of Poverty in Djibouti

Though poverty rates are declining overall, more than 70% of Djiboutians were still living on less than $5.50 a day as of 2017. This number is a result of limited gainful employment opportunities in the country.
Poverty in Djibouti results in malnutrition and food insecurity. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), as many as 7.5% of the country’s population was malnourished in 2016. According to the United Nations Center Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated one-third of the population is chronically food insecure, with 62% of those living in rural areas lacking consistent access to nutritious food and a sufficiently varied diet.

Government Investments in the Fight Against Poverty

The Djiboutian government under President Guelleh has been working to provide relief to its impoverished citizens since 2003. The Guelleh administration passed both “the Strategic Document for Reducing the Poverty (SDRP) in 2003 and the National Initiative for Social Development (NISD) in 2007” to enhance entrepreneurship opportunities for Djiboutians. However, such efforts were unsuccessful in reducing the high unemployment rate and addressing poverty in Djibouti.

Despite the high rates of poverty in Djibouti, the Djiboutian government is cautiously optimistic that it can create jobs and pull its people out of famine. The country’s GDP continues to grow steadily on the back of foreign investments, increasing by nearly 6.8% in 2018. The Republic of Djibouti is of particular interest to China, which is interested in making the country a customs-free zone, harnessing its available natural resources such as salt and energy and developing tourism services.

The Djiboutian government is also investing heavily in developing hydroelectric, port and railway infrastructure in the hopes of lifting its people out of poverty. These investments show that the country is interested in moving toward more of a transport and shipping economy, using its proximity to the Gulf of Aden to assert itself as a crucial trading partner in the Horn of Africa. These efforts to diversify its economy intended to provide new opportunities to Djiboutians to earn living wages, provide food for their families and lift themselves out of poverty.

The Vision Djibouti 2035 Plan and SCAPE

To encourage entrepreneurship and continue to push the fight against poverty in Djibouti, the Guelleh administration also laid out the Vision Djibouti 2035 plan in 2014 and the Accelerated Growth Strategy and Promotion of Employment (SCAPE) in 2015. The long-term strategic framework in Vision Djibouti 2035 intends to push the country toward emerging status by 2035, while the five-year plan laid out in SCAPE aims to provide relief in the short term. Among its many lofty goals, SCAPE outlines how the government intends to provide financial support to those working in agriculture and livestock, create infrastructure for economic valuation in important growth sectors like tourism and resource mining, speed up job creation to help Djiboutians find gainful employment and reduce extreme poverty in Djibouti by 20%.

Djibouti faces significant challenges as it grapples with poverty. However, there is hope. Through fruitful symbiotic partnerships with foreign powers like China and effective strategizing, the government hopes that poverty in Djibouti will be a thing for its history books by 2035.

– Riddhi Bhattacharya
Photo: Flickr

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6 Ways USAID Helps Syria


The news of the ugly, modern warfare occurring in Syria is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to the problem of Syria’s civil war. Despite obstacles, many agencies are doing their best to get humanitarian aid to civilians. In particular, USAID helps Syria by funding many organizations within the United Nations (U.N.), through non-government organizations (NGOs), and its own programs. Here are six specific groups that USAID helps fund.

6 Ways USAID Helps Syria

  1. USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART): DART currently has teams deployed to Turkey and Jordan. They are on standby in case of a sudden and large-scale displacement of Syrian refugees, or for any other humanitarian needs caused by the conflict in Syria.
  2. USAID/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA): USAID/OFDA funds U.N. and NGO sponsored programs. This department has helped provide medical care to Syrians by helping the U.N.’s World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has been able to evacuate patients out of conflict zones, as well as identify and vaccinate against a recent measles outbreak. USAID/OFDA also funded NGOs to train Syrian medical staff, provide medical supplies, and vaccinate against polio.
  3. The Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM): USAID is funding the U.N. World Food Program and U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, which have been able to report on food and crop security in Syria. The CFSAM report shows that less food is being produced in Syria. With this information, the U.N. is able to respond with appropriate food deliveries.
  4. The World Food Programme (WFP): USAID gave $79,812,417 to the WFP’s work in Syria during the 2016 fiscal year. This does not include the funding given to the WFP for use in neighboring countries. In January, the WFP delivered food to 3.6 million people in Syria. The WFP has also given food assistance to conflict-isolated people in the Jordan-Syrian border towns. Finally, the WFP has given more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees food vouchers on debit cards.
  5. The U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF): UNICEF is helping in Syria and in neighboring countries. Within Syria, UNICEF is bringing six million liters of water daily. This is estimated to help 400,000 people in the country. UNICEF is helping Syrian refugees as well. Last November and December, they provided $28 clothing vouchers for Syrian refugee children in Jordan to buy winter clothing. These vouchers were given to 128,430 Syrian children. UNICEF is also offering psychosocial support to Syrian refugee children in Turkey. In January, they helped 7,200 children. UNICEF is also helping refugees by providing social services.
  6. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): The U.N. organization, OCHA, received $3,000,000 from USAID in the 2016 fiscal year. As a result, OCHA has been able to present reports on the humanitarian crisis in Syria. As a result of this important work, the world now knows if humanitarian aid is able to get into Syria, citizens are impacted by aid disruptions and by the state of facilities and infrastructure throughout Syria.

While these examples are encouraging, Syria is still struggling to receive humanitarian aid being offered. In many cases, battles between the al-Assad regime and the rebel forces prevent aid workers from reaching citizens. In some cases, the Islamic State has deliberately blocked aid organizations from repairing infrastructure.

Yet, the world is persistent and continues to fund humanitarian aid to Syria. USAID helps Syria in even more ways than are listed here. Also, the USAID website implores people to donate to NGO’s working in Syria.

It’s dispiriting to watch what unfolds in Syria and hard to imagine how Americans can help. Another way we can help is to tell Congress to support the USAID budget. As few as seven calls from constituents have been known to impact the legislation that a congressman or senator supports.

– Mary Katherine Crowley

Photo: Flickr