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Organizations Addressing the Crisis in Yemen

Crisis in Yemen
Yemen is currently embroiled in one of the worst humanitarian crises in history. More than two-thirds of the country’s population is in need of some form of humanitarian aid or support, and food insecurity continues to affect large numbers of its citizens. Ultimately, only peace will quell the ongoing crisis in Yemen because humanitarian aid can only go so far.

Despite this, many organizations are still making active efforts to help the state and brainstorm new, innovative efforts to address the crisis in Yemen. As the crisis seems to grow in scope and severity, it appears that various organizations worldwide are becoming more dedicated to both helping the Yemeni people and searching for potential solutions. Here is a list of the organizations aiding those in crisis in Yemen.

Organizations Addressing the Crisis in Yemen

  • The International Rescue Committee: The International Rescue Committee is currently calling upon U.N. Security Council members to encourage diplomacy and peace negotiations between warring groups contributing to the crisis in Yemen. The committee helps more than 21,000 people obtain nutrition services and health care weekly.
  • Save the Children: The Save the Children organization has set up temporary learning facilities and child-friendly spaces in order to foster learning and growth for children that the crisis in Yemen has displaced. So far, the organization has supported over a million children by providing essential training in schools and distributing food to children and pregnant mothers.
  • Action Against Hunger: Action Against Hunger recently joined together with various other organizations in calling on governments to end hostilities in the region and suspend the supply of arms and other weaponry. The crisis in Yemen continuously worsens due to the supply of arms from various sources.
  • Creative Generation: Some Yemeni women have come together to form an organization with technological innovations to aid the crisis in Yemen. The organization is Creative Generation and aims to harness solar power as a guaranteed source of energy in the hopes of combating rising fuel prices and scarce availability.
  • The World Bank: The World Bank currently reports that the solar sector within Yemen is booming and remains promising. Additionally, solar energy systems currently reach up to 50 percent of Yemeni households in rural areas and 75 percent in other urban areas.
  • The Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project: The World Bank approved a $50 million IDA-funded grant for The Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project in April 2018. The program aims to expand access to electricity through the distribution of solar energy systems with a particular focus on rural areas that the crisis in Yemen heavily affected. Estimates determine that 20 to 30 percent of this investment will create jobs and help boost the country’s economy.
  • UNICEF: UNICEF covers over 75 percent of all water, sanitation and hygienic solutions to the cholera epidemic stemming from the crisis in Yemen. The organization’s recent solar-powered water project has immensely helped the northern governorates Al Jawf and Sa’ada. This project has given these Yemeni communities access to safe drinking water in their own homes.

In spite of the overwhelming crisis in Yemen, it seems that the international community and various aid organizations are managing to not only see the brighter side of things but also put forth innovative efforts to address multiple issues. Some of these efforts are to encourage peacemaking processes, and others have directly impacted Yemeni lives positively by providing life-saving care and aid. The future can still be optimistic; behind-the-scenes talks resembling peace negotiations have recently occurred in Oman between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

The country still has divisions with different groups holding control over various areas, so the organizations providing aid must continue in their efforts and mobilize others to do the same. As peace negotiations hopefully proceed and bring an end to the seemingly endless war, the international community must remain ready to help citizens following the crisis in Yemen. The Yemeni people’s resilience and innovation are admirable to a remarkable degree, but the country cannot pull itself out of crisis alone.

– Hannah Easley
Photo: Flickr
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10 Facts About Living Conditions in Angola

Living Conditions in Angola
Angola, the seventh-largest country in Africa, has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Since 2013, its economy has been booming and both international and domestic investments have been on the rise. Although Angola’s economy has the potential to become an economic powerhouse in Africa, the international community has become concerned with the poverty rates and overall income inequality in Angola. Despite Angola’s rapidly growing economy, it has a 26 percent unemployment rate and 36 percent of the Angolan population lives below the poverty line. The living conditions in Angola are indicative of an economy that is not yet diversified and a country with extreme income inequality. Here are 10 facts about the living conditions in Angola.

10 Facts About Living Conditions in Angola

  1. Low Life Expectancy and Causes: Angola has a very low life expectancy. The life expectancy in Angola is one of the lowest in the world, and Angola has the 12th highest number of infant mortalities every year. The leading causes of death revealed that the low life expectancy is a result of preventable causes like diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, neonatal disorders and influenza.
  2. Literacy: A third of all Angolans are illiterate. Although primary education is compulsory in Angola, 33.97 percent of Angolans are illiterate and literacy rates have been on a steady decline since 2001. Very few individuals go on to college, leaving their economy stagnated with a brain drain and a lack of available employees for white-collar jobs that require a deep understanding of their field.
  3. Clean Water Availability: Angola has a lack of clean water resources. Forty-four percent of Angolans do not have access to clean water, according to the United Nations Children’s Agency. The Public Water Company in the capital of Angola, Luanda, reports that although the daily need for water is well over a million cubic meters of clean water per day, the public water company EPAL can only supply 540,000 cubic meters of clean water per day. This leaves many without clean water. Even if EPAL were to have the capacity to supply all residents with clean water, it does not have the infrastructure to do so.
  4. Access to Electricity: Few Angolans have access to electricity. In rural areas, only 6 percent of Angolans have access to electricity. In urban areas, 34 percent of Angolans have electricity, leaving 3.4 million homes without power.
  5. Income Inequality: There is a severe gap between wealth in urban and rural areas. Income inequality in Angola is one of the highest in the world at 28.9 percent. Poverty is highest in rural areas where 94 percent of the population qualifies as poor. This is contrasted by the fact that only 29.9 percent of the urban population qualifies as poor.
  6. Public School Enrollment: There is low enrollment in public schools and UNESCO reports that enrollment has been on a steady decline since 2009. The low enrollment rate may be because many schools and roads suffered during Angola’s civil war and because many schools are located in inconvenient and rural locations with poor sanitation and untrained teachers.
  7. Unemployment: Unemployment is very high in Angola. Angolan unemployment has increased by 1.7 percent since 2018, growing to 30.7 percent. The youth unemployment rate is at an all-time high of 56.1 percent.
  8. Oil-based Economy: The economy is not very diversified. Angola is an oil-rich country and as such, more than one-third of the Angolan economy comes from oil and over 90 percent of Angolan exports are oil. Because the oil sector has been public for so long, the economy was prone to contractions and inflations along with global fluctuation in oil prices. This has left the stability of the Angolan economy at the mercy of oil prices, which have been rapidly fluctuating, destabilizing the economy.
  9. Food Insecurity: Many Angolans suffer from severe food insecurity. In fact, 2.3 million Angolan citizens are food insecure, and over 1 million of those individuals are children under 5 years old. Because of government redistribution of land, many farmers have lost their best grazing land and their arable land for crops, leading to a lack of meat and produce.
  10. Unpaid Debts: Unpaid debts threaten to dampen economic growth. After a long economic slump, the Angolan economy has further suffered due to unpaid loans. Twenty-seven percent of total Angolan credits are loans that are defaulted or close to being defaulted, and 16 percent of the largest bank in Angola, BIA, are not being reimbursed.

Although Angola has a multiplicity of problems related to poverty to solve, the country is not beyond help. Angola’s new President has secured loans from China, garnered aid from the International Monetary Fund and promised to allow local businesses to partner with international customers and trade partners to increase macroeconomic growth. As Angola diversifies its economy in 2020, the President of Angola states that economic growth and stability is on the horizon. Angola’s economy is receiving aid from a number of nations, including China, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, which will no doubt prove to be a successful investment.

– Denise Sprimont
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Water Quality in Asia

10 Facts About Water Quality in AsiaAsia is a large continent with vastly different cultures and societies, but they seem to suffer from a lot of the same issues. Some common issues are rapid urbanization and lack of infrastructure in rural areas. The most common may be that the water quality in Asia is severely lacking. In fact, Asia’s rivers are three times more contaminated by bacteria from human waste. Here are 10 facts about water quality in Asia.

12 Facts about Water Quality in Asia

  1. The United Nations estimates more than 40 percent of the population in India could be living in megacities by 2030. The stunningly fast urbanization of India is taking a toll on the quality of its water. At least 40 million liters of wastewater enters the waters of India every day. This has made 70 percent of surface water in India unfit for consumption. A World Bank report suggests that this will severely stunt the growth of some areas, cutting its GDP growth by as much as one-third.
  2.  China is going through a water shortage. At least 28,000 Chinese rivers and waterways have dried up over the last 25 years. This issue exacerbates the growing issue of water pollution from industrialization. Government surveys found that 70 percent of China’s water table unfit for human consumption due to the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers.
  3. Only 10 percent of Bangladesh homes have consumable water piped to their households. In order to aid Bangladesh in this crisis, The World Bank approved $100 million to be appropriated towards increasing access to improved water supplies. This project will help 600,000 people get water through piped systems.
  4. Groundwater is the Primary Source of Water in South East Asia. A study conducted in 2019 found that 79 percent of people in Southeast Asia use groundwater as their primary source of water. This amounts to a total of 346 million people who rely on that water to be fresh and clean.
  5. Only 30 percent of the population of Mongolia has access to clean piped water. Most Mongolians in the Gobi desert have to use underground water sources. However, rapid urbanization and mining have changed the water supply. Underground water is no longer a reliable source of healthy water.
  6. In Vietnam, 90 percent of urban wastewater is released back into the environment untreated. The Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Organisations reported that environmental laws in Vietnam have too many loopholes and flaws to be adequate. There are only 29 water treatment stations in big cities, which is reportedly not enough.
  7. At least 80 percent of the Indonesian population lacks access to piped water. The people must rely on river water to meet their needs. Although the river water is not of adequate quality for any kind of healthy use due to many corporations do not comply with government pollution laws.
  8. The abysmal quality of water in Afganistan is due to years of war. The infrastructure of the country has been destroyed with little funds or time to rebuild. This has left only 27 percent of the population of Afganistan with access to high-quality water.
  9. There were at least 118,000 hospitalizations in Iraq’s 2018 crisis due to water contamination. It was reported that at least 40 percent of the sewage from the river Baswa was being dumped into the Shatt al-Arab. The government started posting weekly reports on the water quality online in February 2019.
  10. Nearly all of South Korea has drinkable tap water, but not many drink it. South Korea has impeccable water quality because the government requires yearly reports from all utility providers. However, a survey done in 2013 of 12,000 individuals showed that only about 10 percent drink water straight from the tap.

There is a global effort to improve the water quality of Asia. The South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) is improving the management of the many river basins of Asia. SAWI has addressed issues such as riverbank flooding and the economic opportunities of hydroelectric power on the Brahmaputra Basin in India. It has also supported disaster management on the Sundarbans wetlands shared by Bangladesh and India.

These 10 facts about water quality in Asia demonstrate the many water crises that are happening all across the continent. While there are reforms in place, it will be many years until each country will have equal access to clean, safe water.

– Nicholas Pirhalla
Photo: Flickr

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What is Global Fragility?

What is Global Fragility

Global fragility is a compelling global phenomenon. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has defined it as, “the combination of exposure to risk and insufficient coping capacity of the state, system and/or communities to manage, absorb or mitigate those risks. Fragility can lead to negative outcomes including violence, the breakdown of institutions, displacement, humanitarian crises or other emergencies.”

The 2030 Agenda

Rising global challenges such as climate change, global inequality, the development of new technologies and illegal financial flows, are all aggravating global fragility. Now more than ever before, these challenges most severely affect low and middle-income countries. Global fragility is a pressing issue as poverty is increasingly present in fragile areas and those affected by conflict. It is estimated that by 2030, as much as 80 percent of the world’s extreme poor will be living in fragile areas, becoming both a threat to global security and a prominent barrier to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

Within the 2030 Agenda, SDG 16 outlines achieving peaceful, just and equitable societies. Additionally, this SDG emphasizes the importance of sustaining peace and conflict prevention. Peace and conflict prevention are not achievable with increasing global fragility risks and inefficient responses. Indeed, 2016 was the year affected the most by violence and conflict in the past 30 years, killing 560,000 people and displacing the highest number of people in the world since World War II. Moreover, countries that are part of the 2030 development agenda all committed to leaving no-one behind, stressing the need to address fragile areas.

Addressing Global Fragility

Taking into account the elements mentioned above and the existing consensus on the matter, it is fundamental for countries and international organizations to address global fragility and take action by joining efforts. International institutions faced some blame for inadequate performance in fragile states. Recently, efforts began focusing on developing frameworks and tools to address fragility more efficiently. At the core of the solution to global fragility lies resilience. Additionally, this comprises of assisting states to build the capacity to deal with fragility risks and stabilize the country.

For example, the World Bank launched the Humanitarian Development Peace Initiative (HDPI) in partnership with the U.N. to develop new strategies to assist fragile countries. Under this initiative, the U.N. and World Bank will collaborate through data sharing, joint frameworks and analysis, etc. Additionally, the European Commission changed the way it approaches fragility, now concentrating more on the strengths of fragile states rather than their weakness, to assist them in resilience building and empowering them to do so.

All these efforts revolve around a set of core principles, stemming from lessons learned from the past. These mainly include empowering local governments and helping them escape the fragility trap. Another principle revolves around achievements in the long-term. Long-term achievements will ensure sustainability, as transforming deep-rooted governance takes time for effective implementation. Inclusive peace processes prioritizing the security of citizens, along with inclusive politics, are essential in the transformation of fragile states.

The Global Fragility Act

On December 20, the Global Fragility Act was passed as a part of the United States’ FY 2020 foreign affairs spending package, to address fragility more effectively. The Act emphasizes interagency coordination regarding development, security and democracy. In addition, the Act also highlights a more efficient alignment of multilateral and international organizations. As the first comprehensive, whole-of-government approach established by the United States, the efforts plan to prevent global conflict and instability.

The numerous actions and initiatives launched recently illustrate a significant step forward in addressing the threat of fragility. The common consensus between donor countries, multilateral and international institutions must now be translated into concrete actions.

– Andrea Duleux
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Palestine

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Palestine
Despite Palestine’s constant immersion in conflict as a result of Israeli occupation, there are some positives in regards to girls’ education. Here are 10 facts about girls’ education in Palestine that showcase both the good and the bad of the country’s education system.

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Palestine

  1. Literacy Rates: Palestine has one of the highest literacy rates in the world with 96.9 percent of its population being literate. In particular, there have been great strides in improving women’s literacy rates. The literacy rate went from 78.6 percent in 1995 to 97 percent in 2018. Female literacy rates are at their highest in the West Bank and their lowest in Salfit.
  2. School Infrastructure and Teachers: The education system is struggling due to insufficient school infrastructure and a lack of teachers with adequate training, as well as the existence of schools in marginalized areas. During the first 10 years of the Israeli occupation, the government built no new schools and classrooms of existing ones were overcrowded. The lack of schools led to an emergency-like situation in education, which resulted in some positive achievements, such as the regaining of the credibility of the Tawjihi, a secondary school matriculation exam. There has also been an improvement in extracurricular activities for students.
  3. The Effects of the Israeli Occupation: The Israeli occupation is mostly responsible for the struggles of the education system, given that it continually causes the exposure of schools to rockets and bombs. Building restrictions that Israeli rule implemented in places such as Area C and East Jerusalem are primarily responsible for the shortage of infrastructure. There are also movement restrictions, such as checkpoints and the Barrier, which can pose challenges to accessing services like education. The Barrier is an Israel-approved physical barrier in and around the West Bank in Palestine.
  4. Enrollment in Early, Primary, Secondary and Higher Education: There is a comparable amount of enrollment in primary education when it comes to boys and girls. Still, admissions are higher for female students to both secondary and higher education institutions. However, when it comes to Early Childhood programs, only 14.9 percent of girls are enrolled. Therefore, the U.N. has made it a priority to start investing in early childhood education, focusing on funding both teacher education and gender equality awareness.
  5. Raising Awareness About Female Education: Some of the U.N.’s planned interventions include raising awareness about the disadvantages of early marriage and the importance of female education. This effort is on-going, as women still struggle with early marriage, and gaining education and employment in Palestine. A female Palestinian student interviewed by the L.A. Review stated that “we have this thing in our society that is like, your house, your kids are [more] important than anything else. Your job is not so important because it’s like, your husband is working.”
  6. Education and Conflict: Education is critical in Palestine because it can be a non-violent form of protest against the on-going conflict. UNICEF enforces this ideology by using a behavioral change approach towards students. It encourages students, parents and teachers to challenge the acceptance of violence. It enforces this mindset by providing education and raising awareness.
  7. Women and Unemployment: Women in Palestine experience marginalization despite their education, suffering from a high rate of unemployment when compared to the rest of the world. The unemployment rate among women with 13 years of schooling or more was 50.6 percent in 2016, which was a significant increase from the 21.9 percent recorded in 2000.
  8. Women’s Participation in the Labor Market: Palestinian women have the lowest participation in the labor market within the MENA region. When it comes to labor force participation, women have a 19 percent participation rate compared to 71 percent of male participation. There is a joint effort to find and apply solutions to this problem. One solution is the U.N.’s policy to encourage girls to have Technical and Vocational Education Training, which the U.N. has partially implemented to date.
  9. Dangers on Route to School: Approximately half a million children in Palestine require humanitarian assistance to receive a quality education. The violence in the West Bank poses threats and challenges, which lead to children to experience distress and fear, even when going to and from school. This is because they might pass high-risk locations or checkpoints.
  10. Electricity Shortages: Electricity shortages that constant conflict causes are affecting access to education, both at school and at home, by striking study time and concentration. These shortages are a result of the sole electric company facing a lack of fuel, which is a consequence of the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. To reduce the reliance on fuel, organizations such as the World Bank and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been working on providing alternative energy sources.

Foreign aid and raising awareness about the importance of girls’ education in Palestine have enabled some progress. However, as a conflict-ridden area, there is more that the country requires to ensure long-lasting development and enforce quality education. By looking at these 10 facts about girls’ education in Palestine, one can begin to see some of these efforts and realize how it should be a priority to find additional solutions.

– Johanna Leo
Photo: Flickr

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The Benefits of Strong Economic Growth in Bangladesh

Economic Growth in BangladeshBangladesh, a diverse and culturally rich nation located in South Asia, is known for its beautiful green scenery and numerous waterways. It is currently the 8th most populous country worldwide. When it first became an independent country in 1971, Bangladesh was incredibly poor with 82 percent of the population living below the extreme poverty line. At the time, the country experienced a negative rate of 14 percent; political tensions were high and the nation was continuously devastated by famine and flood. Today, the situation is much different.

Growth on Many Fronts

Bangladesh now has an average economic growth rate of 8 percent, well above the regional average growth rate of 5.5 percent. In the first quarter of 2019, Bangladesh was the 7th fastest growing economy in the world, with a real GDP growth rate of 7.4 percent. Notably, between 2008 and 2017, per capita income in Bangladesh has increased by 149 percent helping to boost human development indicators for the country.

Bangladesh’s remarkable economic growth has raised a significant portion out of the population out of poverty. The poverty rate of Bangladesh fell from 48.9 percent in 2000 to 24.3 percent in 2016 and the proportion of employed workers living in extreme poverty dropped from 73.5 percent in 2010 to 14.8 percent in 2016.

Contributors to Economic Growth in Bangladesh

With a combination of progressive social policies and economic reforms, Bangladesh has been able to attract a large number of foreign investment and find new markets, resulting in a thriving economy despite the world’s stagnating state.

Bangladesh’s economic liberalization, successful adaptation and modernization policies have allowed the country to compete in the global market place and attract foreign investors. Net foreign direct investment rose by 42.9 percent, concentrating on the power, food and textile sectors.

The Garment Industry

The success of the garment industry is one contributor to strong economic growth in Bangladesh, accounting for 84.2 percent of exports in the country. Growth in garment exports increased from 8.8 percent to 11.5 percent in 2018, reflecting strong demand from the U.S. and newer markets like Canada, Japan, India, China and Korea.

Despite continued success in the garment sector, it is risky to rely on a single industry for the majority of exports. Bangladesh is aiming to diversify its export basket, increasing competitiveness in other sectors as well. The Export Competitiveness for Jobs project, supported by World Bank Group, is an example of the effort Bangladesh’s government is taking to increase diversity in exports. 

Empowering Women

Additionally, Bangladesh has taken serious steps to empower women with efforts from non-governmental organizations such as Grameen and BRAC as well as the government to educate girls and give women a greater voice in both households and society. These efforts have helped to improve children’s health and education, which are key indicators of economic development. Additionally, the authority promotes lending to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as women entrepreneurs, introducing policies that promote economic inclusion, creating more active transactions and other economic activities.

Moving Forward with a Vision

Since 1975, Bangladesh has been listed by the U.N. as one of the least developed countries (LDCs) but has recently met the criteria to graduate from that status by 2024, which is a sign indicating the country’s capability to enable sustainable development. The government has its own agenda to become a middle-income country by 2021, celebrating the nation’s 50th birthday.

Thanks to sound economic policies, rapid modernization and progressive demographic development, Bangladesh is now able to build an economy that can successfully thrive in a volatile world. With the right policies and timely actions, Bangladesh is on the trajectory to achieve its “Vision 2021”.

– Minh-Ha La
Photo: Flickr

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How Bangladesh Reduced Poverty

How Bangladesh Reduced Poverty
Bangladesh is a country of 159 million people in the Bay of Bengal next to India. Bangladesh struggled with poverty and economic problems after gaining its independence in 1971. However, the country has recently seen economic growth along with a steady decline in poverty. How Bangladesh reduced poverty holds lessons for other countries and one can attribute it to a variety of factors.

Investing in Public Services

In the past six years, Bangladesh has lifted 8 million people out of poverty. The rate of extreme poverty fell from 17 percent to 13 percent, and the overall poverty rate declined from more than 31 percent to 24 percent. Bangladesh has also made great strides in education, health, infrastructure and energy. Primary school enrollment rates have risen from 80 percent in 2000 to more than 90 percent in 2015, and secondary school enrollment has increased from 45 percent in 2000 to 62 percent in 2015. This jump in education heralds a bright future ahead as Bangladesh invests in its youth.

In terms of health care, the country has achieved an amazing 40 percent decrease in maternal mortality rates, as well as ensuring that 63 percent of pregnant women received maternity care from a trained medical professional in 2015, up from 53 percent in 2007. Bangladesh has also improved its infrastructure by building new roads and water pipelines. People now have better access to schools, health facilities and workplaces, and the pipelines have increased access to drinkable water in rural areas. Lastly, Bangladesh has added over 2,000 megawatts of energy to the national grid and provided solar energy capabilities to over four million households in remote areas. These improvements help households go about daily activities and provide more consistent access to the internet for individuals and businesses. All of these improvements help explain how Bangladesh reduced poverty and may serve as an example for other countries.

Implementing Special Economic Zones

Bangladesh reduced poverty and increased its GDP and living standards thanks to the government’s decisions and international aid. The creation of special economic zones that encourage foreign investment was one major factor in Bangladesh’s economic growth. These zones ensure legal protection and fiscal incentives for investors and allow freer movement of goods and services. These policies make these zones in Bangladesh a safe and profitable place for foreign companies to invest.

Currently, garments and textiles are Bangladesh’s biggest industries, but it is expanding into technology as well thanks to these economic zones. For example, Bangladesh exported 12 industrial robots to South Korea in 2018. While Bangladesh currently has 12 special economic zones, there are plans to create 100 special economic zones and technology hubs to foster future growth. This investment creates jobs and brings money into the economy. Bangladesh is currently trying to direct that new money into new businesses and build the country’s service industries.

The International Development Association

In addition to government policy, the World Bank and the International Development Association (IDA) were also crucial to Bangladesh’s improving fortunes. Many of the country’s achievements in infrastructure, health, energy and education have come with the help of IDA financing. The IDA has given Bangladesh over $28 billion in grants and interest-free credit. This funding has been crucial to the country’s recent accomplishments. The combination of IDA funding and special economic zones has given Bangladesh the jobs and infrastructure needed to pull themselves out of poverty. International aid has been a crucial factor in Bangladesh’s development.

Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in both economic growth and quality of life. Economic policies that encourage foreign investment and help from the IDA both help explain how Bangladesh reduced poverty in the last decade.

– Josh Fritzjunker
Photo: Flickr

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How Should the World Be Measuring Global Poverty?

Measuring Global Poverty
Among economists, sociologists and political scientists, accurately measuring global poverty has never been a more important issue. This has recently become a hotly-debated topic, largely due to the World Bank announcing its goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030. Therefore, accurately measuring global poverty is crucial to ascertain how much progress global poverty reduction efforts have truly made.

Measuring the Poverty Line

The World Bank introduced the poverty line in 1990 and it has become one of the most impactful advancements in global poverty studies. The World Bank, the United Nations, developing countries like India and many others use a poverty line that remains constant over geography and time. People often refer to this method as an absolute measurement, but a common critique some have of this method is that it glosses over deprivation within developing countries and higher costs of living within developed countries. Organizations and countries use a relative measure of poverty to address these oversights. A relative measurement sets the poverty line at a “constant proportion of the mean or median poverty line.”

 However, some critique this measurement for overlooking the absolute standard of living and assuming that relative income is the only important factor for well-being. To address these various issues, an Australian economist Martin Ravallion has proposed a new hybrid model to more accurately measure global poverty.

The Introduction of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

For more than 35 years, the World Bank used a global poverty line and collected data from households to measure global poverty. In 2015, a team of World Bank economists set out to update the poverty line. The release of new Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) conversion factors largely necessitated this update. PPP allows for the comparison of the prices of goods and services across countries. Francisco Ferreira, the leader of the project, believed that measuring global poverty overtime required a fixed-line consistent across countries, even as the prices of goods and services changed. In 2008, the poverty line was $1.25 per day. Using the new PPPs, the new poverty line became $1.90 per day. Estimates determined that 14.5 percent of the world’s population was living in extreme poverty using the old line, whereas it became 14.1 percent or 700 million people using the new line.

Poverty has been declining dramatically across the world over the previous decades, although Ravallion suggests that inaccurate measurements may be exaggerating the decline. These inaccuracies may be because poverty is relative, concerns other factors than income and affects certain members of a household more than others. Ravallion has proposed a hybrid measurement to address the issues posed by the absolute and relative measurements. This approach to measuring global poverty uses a common global standard of living as well as relative poverty within a particular country. People determine the poverty line according to the income that a certain welfare status requires. Ravallion found that people may be overestimating the extent to which global poverty has decreased using his hybrid measure. His estimate of the world suffering from extreme poverty is 32 percent, significantly higher than the World Bank’s estimate of 11 percent, calculated using a poverty line of $1.90 per day.

– Adam Bentz
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About the Rising Genocide in Ethiopia

Genocide in Ethiopia
Over 3 million people have had to move due to ethnically motivated attacks. Some people have burned churches and there have been many recent deaths in ethnic-based conflicts. If these conflicts do not stop soon, a horrific genocide in Ethiopia could ensue. Here are some facts about the rising genocide in Ethiopia.

7 Facts About the Rising Genocide in Ethiopia

  1. Ethnic and Religious-Based Conflicts: Multiple ethnic groups, including Oromo extremists who want to take back the power others have historically denied them, have been starting ethnic and religious-based conflicts. There has been a long history of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia. These conflicts include opposition between the Oromo people and Amarah people and the Oromo and the Gedeo people. Additionally, the Tigrean people have had more control over the government resulting in a long and complex history. The Oromo extremists’ acts of violence attempt to eradicate anything resembling the Ethiopian Empire including Christianity (a religion that has a long history in Ethiopia). People are burning Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches to the ground due to these conflicts. The Crisis Group, an organization that seeks to reduce conflicts worldwide, urges the Ethiopian prime minister (Abiy Ahamed Ali) to, “govern more inclusively, working to collaboratively with state institutions on reforms and involving civil society in reconciliation efforts.”
  2. Violence from the Conflicts: Recently, there has been a rise in ethnic and religious clashes in Ethiopia. On October 23, 2019, during a protest, ethnic and religious-based violence broke out and killed up to 78 people in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Authorities arrested 409 people who were in connection with the attacks.  
  3. The Role of Fake News: The BBC reported that fake news has aided in spurring these attacks. The entire protest emerged from a false claim that security forces were detaining Jawar Mohammed, the founder of the Oromia Media Network and a renowned anti-government activist with a Facebook following of 1.75 million people. These claims were not true. The Ethiopian Prime Minister has responded to this spreading of fake news by warning of forthcoming tough measures against media organizations fueling conflict. Here is a petition from the Genocide Prevention Department to help prevent more violence. This organization is fighting to hold OMN Media, which is a network that is currently broadcasting the hate propaganda accountable for instigating violence.
  4. Ethiopia’s Efforts to Prevent Violence: The new governmental changes that have been making strides to peace have intensified ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia. The Tigrean and Oromo people seek to break away from the government because they oppose its recent efforts to bring peace to Ethiopia. These strides towards peace include the Eritrea peace deal which ended a 20-year stalemate following the 1998-2000 border war, freeing thousands of opposition activists from jail and allowing exiled dissidents to return home.
  5. German Bernhanu and Ignorance: Small disputes become fatal skirmishes due to the absence of a culture of constructive dialogue and the alarming rise of intolerance. During an interview with The Borgen Project, Germa Bernhanu discussed how propaganda fuels a lot of these conflicts because people ignorantly follow. An example of ignorance causing violence is the October 23, 2019 skirmishes that resulted from falses claims.
  6. The Role of Education: Only 41 percent of girls are literate in Ethiopia while 34 percent of school-aged children do not attend school. If more Ethiopian children could gain an education, the ignorant following of propaganda may not be an issue. Organizations like Save the Children and the World Bank are working towards educating children around the world. In the U.S., the Keeping Girls in Schools Act seeks to solve this issue as well by empowering young girls, but the U.S. has not passed this bill yet. Contacting Senators and House Representatives is a great way to urge congress to pass this bill.
  7. Potential for Genocide: Many Ethiopians have a great fear that genocide will break out in Ethiopia. Ethiopians such as Elijah Wallace, Ethiopian native and scholar, and Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian running legend, also say the potential for a genocide to emerge in Ethiopia soon is great. Many believe that the situation is very fragile due to political protests against the Ethiopian government’s attempts to unify Ethiopia as well as ethnic and religious-based feuds that have broken out in Ethiopia recently. Since very bloody ethnic-based clashes continue to happen in Ethiopia, the beliefs that genocide in Ethiopia is a very likely possibility in the near future are strong.

While a full-blown genocide has thankfully not occurred in Ethiopia yet, genocide in Ethiopia is certainly a looming possibility. If the Ethiopian government is able to defuse the conflicts and figure out how to handle them, these conflicts might be able to resolve without outside interference. 

– Emily Oomen
Photo: Flickr

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Aid and Investments in Cameroon’s Agriculture Industry

Cameroon’s Agriculture Industry
There is potential for growth in Cameroon’s agriculture industry. Although Cameroon is Africa’s fourth-largest cocoa producer, the country imports more than $800 million worth of cereal, flour and fish to feed its people and meet demands in production.

The subsistence agriculture industry employs more than 50 percent of Cameroonians, which requires hard labor without machinery. Cameroon President Paul Biya emphasized the need for a more productive and modern agriculture industry that would benefit small and medium-sized farms. The World Bank, Nestle and the IFC have made various efforts to develop the Cameroonian agriculture sector.

World Bank Project

The World Bank created the Agriculture Investment and Market Development Project to improve the productivity of subsistence crops such as cassava, maize and sorghum. The project began in 2014, costs $166 million and closes on July 2021. The areas of focus range from improving seed quality and public infrastructure to enhancing agricultural technology and distribution systems. Commercial farming is rare. This is why the World Bank is helping create a dominant industry that departs from the old, inefficient and arduous ways of subsistence farming.

Various targets under the project are complete. Yields in cassava, maize and sorghum have all increased. Maize yields have already surpassed the set target while cassava and sorghum are just below their targeted yields. The project has implemented more than 86 sub-projects out of the target goal of 100. More than 15,000 clients have adopted improved agricultural technology that the project introduced, and there are more than 139,000 direct project beneficiaries out of the goal of 150,000. The project also distributed more than 16 million cassava seeds. Although the project ends in July 2021, it met many of its targets. The project benefited Cameroon’s agriculture industry and will continue to do so thanks to the World Bank and its partners.

A Win-Win Scenario

Due to Cameroon’s position as a trade hub off the coast of Africa, companies are seeing opportunities in the growing agriculture industry. Tiger Brands bought Cameroonian company Chococam in 2008 and afterward saw “excellent growth in operating income, driven by strong volume growth and tight cost management.” Nestle produces its Maggi stock cubes in Cameroon but wants more inputs from local farmers. Nestle views it as a win-win scenario, as it gives Nestle a competitive advantage and also helps local farmers and rural development. Nestle also wants to create a starch similar to cornstarch from Cameroon’s cassava plant. It currently imports cornstarch from Europe.

The insurance industry is also developing Cameroon’s agriculture industry and helping farmers insure their crops. International Finance Corporation (IFC) partners ACTIVA Assurance and AXA Cameroon are two insurance companies that provided index insurance to nearly 8,000 cotton growers. Index insurance helps farmers during climatic shocks, such as floods that are common in the country. The goal of IFC and its partners is to provide 135,000 agricultural index insurance contracts by the end of 2020. This will enable 700,000 farm households to offset yield reductions during natural disasters.

Future of the Industry

Companies and NGOs aided Cameroon’s growing agriculture industry either directly or indirectly. Progress is ongoing, but more the industry requires more to develop and help those in poverty. About 90 percent of the poor reside in rural areas, where the main source of income comes from subsistence farming. Thanks to the World Bank, Nestle, Tiger Brands and various NGOs and nonprofits, Cameroon is seeing positive growth in agriculture development.

– Lucas Schmidt
Photo: Flickr

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