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7 Facts About Mark Green, USAID’s Administrator

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

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

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

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

– Adesuwa Agbonile

Photo: Google/span>

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How Foreign Aid to Colombia Benefits the US

Foreign Aid to Colombia In November 2016, after four years of negotiations, the Colombian government reached a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a rebel narco-terrorist organization. As of July 2017, FARC rebels have turned over 7,000 weapons. The success of the Colombian peace process is partly due to U.S. foreign aid to Colombia. This assistance benefiting Colombia also helps the U.S.’s economy and national security.

The civil war between the Colombian government and FARC lasted more than five decades. 250,000 people died and 60,000 disappeared. FARC kidnapped American citizens and supplied nearly all the cocaine in the U.S.

To combat this, the United States has invested $10 billion since 2000 in Colombia through Plan Colombia, a bipartisan initiative to strengthen Colombia’s public institutions. President Obama updated America’s foreign policy in Colombia after the successful peace negotiations in 2016 by pledging an additional $450 million in foreign aid to Colombia through the new U.S. initiative Peace Colombia.

While Colombia is covering 90 percent of the peace accord implementation costs, the U.S. assistance is primarily targeted toward security, expanding Colombian state institutions into rebel areas and providing justice services for victims. Peace Colombia also enables USAID to work with the Colombian government, private sector and non-profits so that reintegrated FARC rebels and their families can find stable employment instead of reverting back to growing coca.

Although peace in Colombia is promising, issues persist. According to the United Nations, Colombian cocaine production and coca cultivation increased by 34 and 52 percent respectively in 2016. The upcoming 2018 elections in Colombia could also disrupt the peace process. Though President Trump reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to peace in Colombia in May, his administration requested to reduce foreign aid to Colombia for FY 2017 from $391 million to $250 million.

Nevertheless, progress has been achieved. Colombia is experiencing a steady decline in mortality and an increase in literacy. The country has the fastest growing economy in Latin America and is the leading U.S. ally in the region, becoming a major trading partner.

In testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, Juan Sebastian Gonzalez, an Associate Vice President of The Cohen Group and former Special Advisor to Vice President Biden, stated that a secure and peaceful Colombia creates potential for U.S. businesses to invest and leads to a more secure U.S., especially in regards to drug trafficking.

On August 13, Vice President Pence, while visiting Colombia, said the U.S. will continue its partnership with Colombia because “…we’ve long recognized the importance of Colombian security and prosperity to our own.” Pence also complimented President Santos of Colombia, stating that “…Colombia represents the future of Latin America. It is a future of freedom, security, and prosperity. And America stands with you.”

– Sean Newhouse

Photo: Flickr

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Mozambican Adaptation Project to Combat Climate Change

Mozambican Adaptation ProjectMozambique has seen the capabilities of climate change first-hand. Rainwater from northern watersheds often cause massive floods that destroys the property of 22 million Mozambicans living on the coast. Seasonal rains, cyclones and tropical storms also pose threats to inhabitants of the coastline. Heavy rains often disrupt the energy supply in Northern Mozambique. Cyclones bring strong winds, torrential rains, and storms that cause landslides, coastal and inland erosion.

As a result of climate change, rainfall becomes unpredictable, and extreme weather occurrences like drought that occur every three to four years become more frequent. Flooding and cyclones threaten the health and economic stability of many Mozambicans. In 2015, flooding affected 160,000 people, displaced 50,000 and killed 159 in central and northern Mozambique. Furthermore, the country suffered great economic damage to infrastructure, as flooding collapsed roads and bridges.

Mozambique’s mangrove forest in Bon Sinais River, Icidua, Quelimane has completely flattened out as locals use the trees for building and fuel, and the clear space for harvesting salt. Mangroves protect communities that have improperly built homes that are incapable of withstanding strong winds.

USAID funded the Mozambican adaptation project by equipping five municipalities: Pemba, Quelimane, Nacala, Mozambique Island and Mocimboa de Praia. Throughout the next few years, the Coastal City Adaptation Project (CCAP) will see more than 200,000 mangrove trees planted on 37 acres in Icidua, resulting in decreased erosion and flood prevention and an increase in fishing.

Pemba, Mozambique has witnessed the heaviest rainfall in 40 years destroy the homes of its community. The Mozambican adaptation project will commence dune restoration and a phone-based early warning system that allows communities to quickly learn about and prepare for disaster. This emergency response system will prevent flooding damages that have previously destroyed the homes and taken the lives of many.

If the Mozambican adaptation project cannot combat climate change, by 2075 semi-arid and arid areas can expect a 2-3 percent increase in solar radiation and a 9-13 percent increase in evapotranspiration. Mozambique will see an overall 2-9 percent decrease in precipitation and a 5-15 percent decrease in precipitation during the rainy season from November to May.

– Tiffany Santos

Photo: Flickr

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How USAID is Improving Girls’ Education in Pakistan

Girls' Education in PakistanWith an estimated 22.6 million children (aged 5 to 16) out of school, Pakistan is facing an education crisis. This education concern is disproportionately affecting girls, who make up two-thirds of out-of-school children. With so many girls not able to achieve more than an elementary education in Pakistan, USAID has made it a priority to improve girls’ education in Pakistan.

The challenge of child education in Pakistan stems from a variety of human rights issues, from the Taliban preventing girls from going to school to the practice of child marriage. Although these threats continue to diminish, they are still affecting girls’ education in Pakistan.

Only 54 percent of girls are enrolled in primary school, and this number drops to just 30 percent for secondary school. From there, it is estimated that only one in 10 will complete their secondary schooling, being pulled out of school for financial reasons or to be forced into marriage. These practices are typically concentrated in rural areas, but affect girls throughout Pakistan.

With secondary education difficult to access for many girls because they are subject to arranged marriages or financial pressures, USAID has started a program to focus on girls’ access to secondary education. So far, USAID has created 33 schools covering sixth through eighth grade for girls between 11 and 19. These schools will be set up in rural villages where there are often no existing secondary schools for girls.

USAID is also working to improve other dimensions of Pakistan’s education crisis. USAID has done so by building and repairing more than 1,135 schools since 2011, and by educating more than 660,000 primary-level students through its reading program. USAID has also committed over $70 million to implement its Empower Adolescent Girls strategy in order to help educate more than 200,000 young girls in Pakistan.

In addition to improving students’ access to education, USAID is investing in teachers by repairing and building the 17 Faculty of Education centers in Pakistan as well as by providing more than 3,100 scholarships for aspiring teachers to earn their education. USAID has also trained more than 25,000 teachers and school administrators since 2014.

When a child is educated, their livelihoods improve and they are given the tools necessary to be lifted from poverty. While there are still far too many children out-of-school in Pakistan, USAID is working tirelessly in order to give every child access to a complete education.

– Kelly Hayes

Photo: Flickr

 

Learn about the Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act

 

Efforts to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Haiti

Maternal and Child Health in HaitiSince the earthquake that shook the small country of Haiti in 2010, minimal research has been done that concerns maternal and child health in Haiti. Haiti has the highest infant and maternal mortality rate in the western hemisphere, with the infant mortality rate at 48.2 per 1,000 lives births and the maternal mortality rate at 359 per 10,000 live births. Only 34.5 percent of women in Haiti use any form of contraceptive.

Crushing poverty, poor health infrastructure and frequent natural disasters are some of the causes of the poor situation for maternal and child health in Haiti. Many people are still displaced from the 2010 earthquake. Women have a one in 80 chance of dying due to pregnancy and childbirth, and about 50 percent of the population has no access to basic health services at all.

The first study conducted by the NIH after the earthquake that looked at maternal and child health in Haiti and includes opinions of Haitian women and healthcare workers (HCWs) was conducted in 2015. This study found that Haiti was staffed with only 2.8 HCWs per 1,000 inhabitants, and only 1.8 nurses and one physician per 10,000 inhabitants.

The study outlined six major strategies for improving maternal and child health in Haiti:

  1. Create a nurse-midwife program offering post-graduate certification for nurses.
  2. Develop and implement maternal and child health training that focuses on morbidity and mortality prevention and is specifically designed for lay birth attendants.
  3. Implement training for HCWs in obstetric and pediatric complications.
  4. Develop relationships between lay birth attendants and nurse-midwives to work collaboratively.
  5. Implement breastfeeding training programs for HCWs and mothers to increase exclusive breastfeeding to decrease infant diarrhea and malnutrition.
  6. Develop women’s health programs to prevent intimate partner violence and increase condom use to prevent HIV.

The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) has been working with the health ministry and other partners on improving these issues on the ground by supporting “smile clinics.” Smile clinics are maternity hospitals and clinics that provide basic but life-saving emergency obstetric and neonatal care. They are among the most active clinics in the country and also offer family planning services, programs to combat gender-based violence and HIV treatment services.

Haiti has seen a 43 percent decrease in maternal mortality since 1990, and infant mortality is falling by three percent annually, but there is still more to be done. Because only 10 percent of midwifery needs are currently being met, UNFPA supported the construction of a new earthquake-resistant National Midwifery School after the previous one was flattened.

UNICEF is another organization working to improve conditions for maternal and child health in Haiti. UNICEF opened a clinic in 2012 in Marigot, a rural area with little access to health services. In addition to Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmOC), the clinic provides training for matrons, traditional Haitian birth attendants who usually do not have any training. Most matrons use traditional childbirth practices that are passed down through generations. Transportation to clinics can be very difficult, and Haitians often trust and prefer local matrons to professionally trained midwives. For this reason, the clinic in Marigot emphasizes training matrons in basic obstetric care.

USAID’s Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) is another agency working to improve maternal and child health in Haiti. Beginning in April 2014, MCSP has been working in Haiti with Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths (EPCMD) and Services de Sante de Qualite pour Haïti-Nord (SSQH-Nord) to provide technical assistance directly to the Ministry of Health in policies, guidelines and protocols in line with global standards.

In the project’s first year, it opened three National Training Centers with 19 staff trained as trainers in Maternal and Newborn Health skills standardization and high-impact interventions. MCSP also mapped and profiled 36 civil society organizations engaged in community health. The project will continue through September 2017.

With efforts such as these, maternal and child health in Haiti is sure to continue improving in the future.

– Phoebe Cohen

Photo: Google

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Solutions for Common Diseases in Belarus

Common Diseases in BelarusBelarus is a small country located directly west of Russia. The country was a former member of the Soviet Union and is not a member of the European Union. Today, Belarus is undemocratically ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko and is heavily dependent on Russia.

The population of Belarus is 9.5 million, just smaller than the population of North Carolina. The life expectancy for men is 75 years, while the life expectancy for women is 83 years. As a result of common diseases in Belarus, however, the actual average ages at death for men and women are significantly lower than the life expectancy: 65 for men and 77 for women.

The top 10 causes of death in Belarus are noncommunicable diseases or injuries, which is common for a developed country. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are by far the most common causes of death in Belarus. Cardiovascular diseases account for 61 percent of death, and cancer accounts for 14.7 percent.

The most common cause of death is ischemic heart disease. In 2013, ischemic heart disease killed about 653 people for every 100,000 people in Belarus. The mortality rate for ischemic heart disease in Belarus has increased 61 percent since 1990. The number of premature deaths caused by ischemic heart disease in Belarus is the highest of any Eastern European country.

While communicable diseases are not a main cause of death in Belarus, the country has an anomalous relationship with tuberculosis. According to the World Health Organization, Belarus had the highest recorded incidence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Additionally, the mortality rate for tuberculosis has increased by 80 percent since 1990, and the mortality rate for HIV/AIDS has increased by 16336 percent since 1990.

The most common risk factors for disease in Belarus are mostly either behavioral or metabolic. Behavioral risk factors include poor diet, alcohol and drug use and tobacco smoke. Metabolic risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high body mass index (BMI). The highest environmental risk is air pollution.The three most common risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Belarus are poor diet, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Smoking is at least partially responsible for 30 percent of cancer cases in Belarus, making smoking the most common cause of cancer. Additionally, the radiation from the Chernobyl accident in neighboring Ukraine in 1986 has resulted in a dramatic increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer. The incidence of thyroid cancer was very prevalent among children and teenagers living in the most affected areas.

The government of Belarus is actively trying to alleviate these causes of death. In fact, Ministry of Health has worked out a national program devoted to the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. This program, titled “Health of the Nation and the demographic security of the Republic of Belarus” will take a cross-sectoral approach to strengthening population health, reducing premature death and reducing disability attributed to noncommunicable diseases.

Furthermore, the government has pledged thirty percent of Belarus’s healthcare budget to fighting cancer. Regarding tuberculosis, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided support to Belarus that gave them the resources to revise national tuberculosis guidelines and policies.

While the statistics surrounding common diseases in Belarus and their mortality rates are concerning, there are still positives. Lifestyle changes can easily reduce most risk factors for common diseases in Belarus. The government is investing in healthcare and receiving support from USAID. Belarus will hopefully continue to see positive trends in the prevention and reduction of common diseases.

– Christiana Lano

Photo: Flickr

Eliminating Hepatitis C in Ukraine

Hepatitis C in UkraineHepatitis C is an infection transmitted by contact with infected blood or other body fluids that can result in fatal liver disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that Hepatitis C infects more than 185 million people around the world, and 350,000 people die from the infection every year. In Ukraine, more than two million of its 45.2 million population are infected with Hepatitis C.

Seventy to 80 percent of those with an acute Hepatitis C infection do not show symptoms, which can prove dangerous when trying to prevent the spread of Hepatitis C. The annual mortality rate from Hepatitis C in Ukraine has increased by 141.7 percent since 1990 (an average 6.2 percent per year).

Hepatitis C treatment can be prohibitively expensive for the world’s poor. In 2015, the lowest cost for the 12-week treatment course of Sofosbuvir, an antiviral used to treat Hepatitis C, was $900, a price not suitable for low-income Ukrainians suffering from the infection.

In 2013, the Ukrainian government approved the first National Targeted Program of HCV Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment. The state budget only funds the treatment component of the program, and this funding accounts for a mere 20 percent of the existing need.

U.S. organizations are doing their part as well. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the EQUIP project to fight HIV and AIDS, but EQUIP and USAID recently partnered with the Ukrainian government to fight Hepatitis C in Ukraine. EQUIP provides a simplified system with two stages of testing and treatment for 4,000 patients with Hepatitis C. In the first stage, 800 people with serious cases of double and triple pathology – a combination of HIV, Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis — will be treated; in the second, 3,200 individuals will receive treatment. Patients will be given a fixed dose of Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir.

EQUIP is aimed at developing new treatment protocols and calculating its cost for Ukrainian patients. As well as giving doctors the experience they need with the medication to effectively treat patients and consult with the Ukrainian Government to create programs to increase access to those who need treatment. EQUIP is determined to eliminate viral Hepatitis by 2030.

With a combination of national and international efforts, we can end the spread of Hepatitis C in Ukraine.

– Tiffany Santos

Photo: Google

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Strengthening Communities to Curb Gang Violence in Honduras

Gang Violence in HondurasSan Pedro Sula, Honduras is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Thus, organizations and local leaders are combating gang violence in Honduras by helping young people find and make their own families.One teenager skateboards with friends he considers brothers. Another works on diagramming a family tree. Others join in soccer

One teenager skateboards with friends he considers brothers. Another works on diagramming a family tree. Others join in soccer games, or hang out at recreation centers. These activities have the same goal: to prevent gang violence from becoming a way of life for the next generation.

In a country where the maras, or gangs, recruit kids as young as 12, it becomes of vital importance that teens and youth find love and support elsewhere.  They want these kids to find support in their friends, families, and neighborhoods.

In the interest of halting gang violence in Honduras, USAID has partnered with local citizens to open nearly 50 outreach centers. Teens can go there to learn computer skills, play musical instruments, and participate in sports. Some outreach centers, like Casa de la Esperanza (House of Hope), organize movie nights and other events. The U.S. has also supported the clearing and revitalizing of 10 abandoned soccer fields to prevent gang violence in Honduras.

Fun activities, when combined with a confident leader, can form stable, even familial, bonds. The best example of this may be Jesse Recinos, who founded the club Skate Brothers. Recinos was nearly killed at the age of 16 after being wrongly accused of stealing from a member of a rival gang. In the aftermath of the experience, he decided to change his own life, and the lives of others, by bringing at-risk youth together to do skateboarding, BMX, rollerblading and breakdancing.

The club is about more than just busting tricks, and Recinos is more than just an instructor. He invites the kids to his house for meals and meets with their school teachers. Recinos is intent on keeping “his guys” away from gang violence and crime. He is at once a teacher, parent, and big brother.

Some programs focus on strengthening trust and communication inside the home, such as Proponte Mas, which offers counseling sessions to teens and young adults who are at risk for joining gangs.

Over the course of a year, the counselors work to reconnect the youth with separated family members. The separations typically occur either because violence has ruptured lines of communication or because relatives have migrated elsewhere.  Extended families draw closer together, offering the youth a strong support system to fall back on.

Being part of a family, the teens learn, also means being accountable. They are encouraged to do their schoolwork and to ask permission before leaving the house. Activities like the family tree diagram help spark an interest in family history. They learn to identify themselves as part of their family before any other group.

Sometimes, accountability to a family goes hand-in-hand with being able to provide for a spouse and children. Proyecto METAS, a program sponsored by the Education Development Center, was founded to provide unemployed young people, particularly at-risk youth or those who had left gangs, with skills they can use in the workforce. By March of 2017, the program had reached 56,000 youth and created 4,000 jobs and internships.

Tragedy still strikes frequently. Children die. Families flee. Moreover, the killers continue to walk away with impunity.  Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world: 60 out of 100,000 residents become homicide victims. Rampant corruption among the police and the government means that only 4 percent of these crimes result in convictions.

The American Justice Society (AJS), a Christian nonprofit association, is committed to halting gang violence in Honduras by putting these murderers behind bars. Its teams consist of a lawyer, an investigator and a psychologist, and they assist the government in building homicide and sexual abuse cases. AJS connects victims and witnesses to officials who are trustworthy.

One of the biggest challenges in prosecuting homicides is getting witnesses to appear in court. Witnesses who speak out, particularly against gang members, risk becoming murder victims themselves. The organization says that it can take anywhere from four to 15 visits to convince a witness to testify.

Psychologists provide emotional support for the victims and witnesses and their families. They go over testimony with the witnesses and give them exercises to calm their fears. In cases of sexual abuse, the psychologists continue to work with victims and their families even after the trial is over.

As criminals are put behind bars, halting gang violence in Honduras is, even more, dependent on the country’s youth. For things to truly improve, programs must expand their scope and work with youth who are already gang members.

Those who fight for the protection of human rights must also be kept safe. The U.N. has recently opened a new human rights office in Honduras, and is working to improve relations between human rights workers and the government.

Journalist Sonia Nazario, in a Sunday opinion column for the New York Times, urged the U.S. to put pressure on Honduras to spend more of its budget on violence prevention. She also brought up the problem that much of the aid that the U.S. sets aside for Honduras becomes caught up in U.S. bureaucracy and does not reach the nonprofits and local citizens who need it. There is still work to do. However, at least for now, progress has been made.

– Emilia Otte
Photo: Flickr

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How to Help the Extreme Poor in India

How to Help the Extreme Poor in IndiaIndia is the second most populous country in the world and hosts one-third of the world’s extreme poor. It has the third highest number of people living with and dying from HIV/AIDS, and 60.4 percent of its population lives with unimproved sanitation facility access, mostly affecting Indians living in rural communities. Here are four ways to help the extreme poor in India.

Donate
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 47 percent of Indian girls are married by the age of 18. While it is illegal for girls in India to marry before the age of 18, many still do because their families live in poverty.

One method to combat child marriage is education. The non-profit Girls Not Brides, for example, is currently fundraising for Shadhika, an organization that pays tuition for at-risk Indian girls. Right now, they are $8,568 away from a $30,000 goal.

Donations to this cause enable more Indian girls living in extreme poverty to attend school and avoid underage marriage. By donating to this and other similar organizations, those who are not currently in India can still assist those in poverty.

Contact Congress
For 2017, the U.S. government plans to spend $49.5 million of foreign aid on health in India.  Half of this aid will be allocated for HIV/AIDS. To ensure the effectiveness of this aid, Congress is currently in the process of potentially passing the Global Health Innovation Act (H.R. 1660).

This act requires the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to give an annual report to Congress describing the “development and use of global health innovations” in their work.

Emailing or calling elected representatives will support this bill on top of promoting the use of health innovation to achieve an HIV/AIDS-free generation. Representatives need to know that their constituents are interested in a goal in order for it to get the attention it deserves.

Shop
Shopping is another way to help the extreme poor in India. Currently, about ten million Indian women are commercial sex workers–the Anchal Project wants to change that.

The Anchal Project employs Indian women, 85 percent of whom were once in the sex trade, to create and make original designs for ecologically sound clothing and fabrics (mainly scarves).

Shopping here will support women in their goal of earning full-time employment and leading change in their families and communities, in effect supporting the extreme poor in working their way out of poverty.

Stay Informed
As most of the world’s poor live in India, the country is a great focus for The Borgen Project and other organizations working to fight poverty. Read up on current struggles and efforts to improve conditions for the poor in India to better learn how you can keep helping in the future.

While people are often told that they as an individual can change the world, it often seems that the change desired is too arduous to achieve. Nevertheless, a community of people can come together to end global poverty and help the extreme poor in India.

– Sean Newhouse

Photo: Flickr

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How to Help People in Central African Republic

How to Help People in Central African RepublicThe Central African Republic (CAR) is ranked 188 out of 188 countries in the 2016 United Nation’s Human Development Index. Its ranking is determined by markers of income inequality and life expectancy. Its rank speaks largely to the estimated 2.7 million citizens in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, its half a million citizens internally and externally displaced resulting from years of civil conflict and violence and the absence of basic infrastructure.

Bearing in mind CAR’s long road towards social, political and economic recovery, many ask the question: how to help people in Central African Republic? Three agencies worth considering are the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and International Rescue Committee (IRC).

  1. U.N. World Food Programme
    The WFP strives to strengthen communities within CAR with short-term and long-term approaches. In the short-term, the WFP distributes food for the internally displaced in shelter communities and local populations. In the long-term, the WFP has a quid pro quo approach in that the organization will supply food for the participation of local populations in rebuilding and repairing community infrastructure. It is estimated that through food, cash and vouchers the WFP has reached up to 305,000 people in the CAR, with plans to reach at least 700,000 by the end of this year. Specialized nutrition packages for pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children, as well as management of the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), also fall under the scope of the WFP.
  2. United States Agency for International Aid
    Earlier in July it was announced that the World Food Programme received a $11 million donation from the USAID in assisting the growing hunger issue in Central African Republic. Reportedly, this aid will help bring food supplies to approximately 550,000 people through CAR. Importantly, the U.S. Fiscal Year 2017 published that in response to CAR a total of $57,580,923 would be made available.
  3. International Rescue Committee
    Since 2006, the IRC has been assisting in Central African Republic by providing emergency funds, rebuilding educational infrastructure for children and working to recover clean water sources for communities. Amongst many other forms of assistance, the IRC has outlined its priorities until 2020 to achieve its short-term and long-term goals in CAR. Currently, its primary goals are to achieve widespread health, safety, education, economic sustainability and helping the displaced regain their decision-making agency. Moreover, its gendered approach to its solutions sets the IRC apart from many agencies, as the IRC has a special focus on underscoring its dedication to gender equality in its relief programs.

These three standout organizations have made great efforts to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic. In asking how to help people in Central African Republic, civil society members can volunteer their time, donate money or help connect businesses that are willing to help with these international agencies. Undoubtedly, pulling CAR out of its long plight is no easy feat, one that requires the attention of the public and private sector. Yet, with these agencies and the CAR’s problems gaining international traction, there shows to be steady progression being made. How to help people in Central African Republic largely relies on a steady influx of international aid and successful mechanism of peacebuilding.

– Sydney Nam