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Five Facts About Development Projects in South Sudan

Five Facts About Development Projects in South SudanSouth Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, sits along one of civilization’s oldest landmarks: the Nile River. On July 9, 2011, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan. Its path to stability and sustainability has not been easy.

The South Sudanese government originally planned to use its oil-rich regions to stabilize and grow the country’s economy, but due to disagreements with Sudan, oil production was shut down in 2012. Since then, civil war and rogue militias have ravaged the people of South Sudan, causing a humanitarian crisis. However, this has not slowed the success of aid in the nation. Here are five facts about development projects in South Sudan.

  1. Development projects in South Sudan see long-term international aid. In 2014, the British government allocated 442 million pounds for the development of South Sudan. Instead of directly involving itself in the process, the government has allowed various international aid organizations to use the money to carry out their missions on its behalf. These organizations include the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Danish Refugee Council and the Norwegian Refugee Council. Over 60 percent of spending was allocated to providing food, medical supplies and material aid. The project is on track to end in 2020.

  2. The South Sudanese health services are overwhelmed and underfunded. According to the World Bank, the South Sudanese Ministry of Health is underfunded. As a result, the World Bank began a project in 2016 to help the South Sudanese government cope with its rising need to provide healthcare to its citizens, called the South Sudan Health Rapid Results Project. Funding has been set at $40 million. The project has succeeded in providing healthcare to South Sudanese citizens in the Upper Nile conflict area, an area that only a few development projects in South Sudan continue to work.

  3. Food security is in jeopardy. Food is in short supply in South Sudan, and the World Bank has attempted to alleviate the crisis with a food and agriculture project in 2016. The project is called Southern Sudan Emergency Food Crisis Response Project. Overall, this project has had mixed results when measured against its target goals. It has reached its target for farmers adopting new technologies to increase output and surpassed its goal of constructing new food storage facilities. However, less than half of the targeted families have been helped by their funding. Unfortunately, this project did not receive funding again in 2017, but the infrastructure it created and the new technologies introduced will help drive development in South Sudan for years to come.

  4. May 4, 2017, saw the approval of the South Sudan Emergency Food and Nutrition Project. The project was granted $50 million and is set to run until July 2019. Its goals are similar but more comprehensive than the previous food aid project. This time, more focus is being given to the re-engagement of farmers, which is exceedingly important for the stability of the country’s food supply. Using the infrastructure and technologies of the last project will help provide the basics for the beginning of this new development project in South Sudan. To compensate for the shortcomings of the last project, more funding has been given to focus on supplying food while the farmers begin to produce their new crops.

  5. South Sudan’s development has improved at the community level. USAID is providing support to South Sudan at the community level, focusing on the availability of safe and sanitary drinking water and the health and education of children. Manual water drills and pumps are being provided to villages around the country along with education on waterborne illnesses. To protect and educate children, USAID has implemented three programs. The first aims to protect the rights of children against child-labor and provide equal access to education for boys and girls. Encouraging nonviolent play is another implemented program that focuses on keeping children away from violence. Safe spaces for children are often hard to come by in war-ridden nations. With the third program, USAID seeks to provide more of these spaces for children to receive medical treatment away from conflict.

Conflict has displaced 2.2 million South Sudanese citizens. Fortunately, the world has not forgotten about its newest country. International aid will continue to help fund development projects in South Sudan, hopefully leading the nation and its people to a brighter better future.

– Nick DeMarco

Photo: Flickr

Promoting Women’s Empowerment in Egypt

The 2015 Global Gender Gap Index declared Egypt as number 136 out of the 145 countries measured, with the country ranked at number 1 having the best gender equality and the 145th country expressing the most disparities. With Egypt among the top ten countries with the largest gender gaps, USAID, U.N. Women and UNICEF are all determined to advocate for women’s empowerment in Egypt.

Women Empower Women

U.N. Women tells the story of an Egyptian woman named Maissan Hassan, who is the program manager for the Women and Memory Forum (WMF). Since 1995, WMF seeks to tell the stories of Arab women without any bias or negative perceptions.

Hassan grew up with her mother telling of the inequalities she experienced regarding her career choice and her inability to choose a husband. Her mother battled these inequalities and became a professor at a university.

Hassan was inspired by her own mother’s life story and wished to document the trials and experiences of other women.

Not only does WMF record both oral and written histories on Arab women, but they also establish the Women and Memory Library and Documentation Centre to provide a designated resource center for gender and women’s studies. These stories empower Egyptian women and girls to seek their own dreams and join the battle against gender disparities.

To spread the word and gain female empowerment, WMF and other NGOs held two events in 2014 called “Women’s Rights and the State: Insight into the Egyptian Feminist Movement” and “Revolutionizing Gender Education: Lessons from Egypt.”

Education

Advocacy and education work hand-in-hand to gain women empowerment in Egypt. UNICEF and education officials from Egypt partnered with UNGEI to hold a conference in support of gender equality in Egyptian schools.

As one of the first to gain partnership with UNGEI, Egypt has focused on improving early childhood programs through training teachers and creating a child-centered curriculum since 2006. The conference also identified the value in informing parents and gaining families’ support in equal, quality education to end gendered stereotypes.

With UNICEF financially supporting community schools and UNGEI advocating for higher female attendance, Egyptian schools began to witness a leveling of the gender gap in 2012. While the primary school enrollment rate was 105 percent male, it was 99 percent female. This ratio proves a near success in the efforts to provide females with an education equal to that of males.

Labor

In turn, USAID partnered with the government of Egypt to end restrictions on women’s economic participation. The 2015 Global Gender Gap Index stated that 79 percent of men participate in the labor force, while only 26 percent of females participate.

To address such a disparity, USAID implemented the Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) project, which aids women with business strategies and guides them toward opening their own businesses. In the encouragement of entrepreneurship, women create more jobs in Egypt and gain leadership roles without needing to battle the male hierarchy.

Even further, USAID promotes women empowerment in Egypt by granting scholarships to female undergraduates and graduates in fields related to business, science, and engineering. Since 2014, USAID has given over 600 of these scholarships.

Through the tireless efforts of NPOs, a shift in the role and confidence of women within Egyptian communities has prevailed.

– Brianna White

Photo: Flickr

 

Women’s Empowerment in Jordan

Several factors have largely prevented women’s empowerment in Jordan such as discrimination within its laws, as well as violence that are perpetrated against them. They continue to be denied equal citizenship rights as they face gender-based discrimination in regards to family laws, provisions of government pensions, and social security benefits. Violence against women are not infrequent, as the protection mechanisms that are put in place are often not effective.

The government, aware of this inequality, has taken steps to improve women’s political status in the past years by appointing women to government ministries and high-level posts. In 2003, King Abdullah II appointed 7 women to the 55-seat upper house of the National Assembly.

A large number of non-governmental organizations have also worked to promote the protection of women’s rights in Jordan. They have had success in ending the silence on the issue of domestic violence by lobbying high political offices to denounce domestic violence and raising the debate of the issue in the media. The parliament’s rejection of several decrees and draft legislation has also focused on providing women greater equality. Advocates have made great strides in setting women’s rights at the forefront of political debates.

Unfortunately, although the constitution states that all Jordanian’s are equal, it fails to prohibit gender discrimination. Women’s advocates often cite the constitution which guarantees full equality between men and women. Yet, women are treated unequally concerning divorce, custody, and inheritance. There are also no laws that define or criminalizes domestic violence, and no enforcement mechanisms that ensure they will be implemented to promote and protect gender equality.

Currently, the USAID has partnered with the Government of Jordan and civil society organizations to support women’s empowerment in Jordan. There is now an education system in place that ensures equal access to both genders, with a highly educated female population. Jordan has low scores when it comes to women in the workforce and a lot of women are well-educated and many are university graduates but are unable to find proper employment.

Looking at the changing social practices, enhancement of support for policy reforms, and expanding access to female-centered services, changes have been and are being made for the women in Jordan. There have been 50 grants to community-based organizations to promote women’s political and economic participation as well as support for discussion of gender roles and stereotypes on social media platforms, such as Facebook.

Women’s empowerment in Jordan has drastically improved from eleven years ago. Instead of being overlooked, there are substantial efforts being made to include women in Jordan in the political and economic spheres and conversations concerning gender roles are becoming more prominent. Women’s empowerment is on the rise in Jordan.

– Chavez Spicer

Photo: Flickr

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The Success of Humanitarian Aid to Panama

Humanitarian aid to PanamaThe U.S. began providing aid to Panama in 1961. In its early stages, the main purpose of humanitarian aid to Panama was to eradicate poverty in the country’s rural communities. Between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s, the focus shifted to improving Panama’s infrastructure and public facilities. In the 1990s, USAID was used to help jumpstart Panama’s economy following a political transition.

The Success Stories

In 2012, the USAID mission in Panama was officially closed. This means that after 51 years of providing humanitarian aid to Panama, the country had reached a point where it could deal with its own developmental and economic challenges.

At the time the mission was closed, the poverty rate had fallen from a high of 23 percent to seven percent, and the official unemployment rate was just 4.3 percent.

The health of Panama’s citizens also improved greatly during the period in which USAID was active in Panama. The life expectancy went up to 76 years and the fertility rate went down to 2.4 children per woman.

Access to education is now nearly universal in Panama. The country’s education system includes 11 years of free and compulsory education provided by the government. The curriculum includes science, math, language, social studies and other subjects needed to train a thriving workforce.

Humanitarian aid to Panama also helped the country during its transition back to democracy in 1990. The aid was used to bolster an economic recovery after a 20-year military dictatorship. It also helped stabilize Panama’s new democratic government.

From Aid Recipient to Aid Provider

When Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September and early October 2017, Panama was quick to ship aid in the form of milk, oil and rice to the island.

Panama had been receiving U.S. foreign assistance for over 50 years and they have seen tremendous benefits from USAID. But the biggest success story of all is that Panama has become a country that is now able to provide aid to other countries in times of crisis.

When former aid recipients are able to give back to American citizens in their time of need, it is a reminder that foreign assistance is not a handout, but an investment in the future. USAID in Panama assisted Panama in their economic, political and humanitarian development. It also helped create a powerful ally for the U.S.

– Aaron Childree

Photo: Flickr

USAID Building Trust After Ebola Outbreak in Guinea

USAID Building Trust After Ebola Outbreak in GuineaThe Ebola outbreak in Guinea began in 2014 and over the course of its run in two years, there were over 3,300 Ebola cases in Guinea. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, known as Ebola, is a formerly serious, mostly fatal illness in humans. The virus is very contagious and is transmitted to humans from wild animals. The virus causes severe bleeding, organ failure, and often death.

In the midst of the epidemic, many of the citizens of Guinea were avoiding healthcare centers and hospitals in Guinea because of fear. The citizens feared the government because they were thought of as untrustworthy and the healthcare system had not been providing health services correctly. Another factor as to why people were not using health clinics and hospitals in Guinea was because of the denial that was present about the virus, as many did not regard Ebola as being a real issue and avoided seeking treatment for the disease.

After the hardships that Ebola left on the country, the stress prompted changes and restorations in the hospitals. The USAID teamed up with leaders and organizations in Guinea to guide the country and help them to recover from the virus. The USAID is aiding the country through renovations of hospitals, donating and replacing medical equipment and supplies, and rebuilding the trust in the Guinea healthcare system. The organization also started a ‘Gold Star Accreditation System‘, through a campaign alongside their partners which include the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative, Jhplego, and Guinea’s Ministry of health. The Gold Star Accreditation System puts a sign of a gold star on facilities to signify that it has passed a month-long accreditation process. This has helped citizens to rebuild their trust with hospitals and facilities.

– Chloe Turner

Photo: Flickr

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Womens’ Empowerment in Ethiopia

Women's Empowerment in EthiopiaEthiopia is an African country located on the east side of the continent. The country’s main persistent problem throughout the years has been poverty – it affects all citizens, but specifically affects the ones living in rural areas.

One reason for the prevalence of poverty is because Ethiopia’s economy is mostly based around agriculture and farming. Thus, whenever there is an occurrence of droughts, the population has to face hunger and a lack of basic resources to survive. Droughts have been very recurrent during the past few years in the country of Ethiopia.

Another increasingly severe problem in Ethiopia is the international trafficking of women and children. Along with it, domestic violence has been a recurrent problem that does not seem to be reducing with time.

Ethiopia’s constitution mentions how it provides equality for women, but the reality is that the application of this statement is sorely lacking. Most victims of abuse, rape, sexual assault or other criminal activities do not understand the legal procedures and rights that they have when going through the legal process. Thus, the victim’s ignorance along with the common belief in Ethiopia that husbands have the right to beat their wife creates an unsafe environment. Victims consider such acts as normal or understandable. Women’s empowerment in Ethiopia seems to be a concept that not even women in this African country are aware of.

The issue is that women’s inequality is an ancient problem that has not been resolved over time, as it has happened in other countries around the world. Thus, situations such as forced marriages and female genital mutilation are still taking place to this day.

Changing Ethiopian society’s view regarding women and children has – understandably – not proven to be an overnight process. The concept as a whole has been tackled by different organizations, including USAID, which has been a major advocate for womens’ empowerment in Ethiopia. Through talks, conventions, creating awareness and promoting reading clubs, women’s empowerment in Ethiopia grows every day a little more.

The Revolutionary Ethiopia Women’s Association (REWA) is an organization with up to five million members, which focuses on women’s rights in the African country. Reach for Change is another organization well known for its work towards women’s empowerment in Ethiopia. Whilst working directly with Ethiopian citizens, these organizations are working to create an awareness that will help make progress in empowering women in Ethiopia – something that has been a long time coming.

– Paula Gibson

Photo: Flickr

United States and Nigeria: $17 Million to Fight Extreme Poverty

United States Releases $17 Million Dollars to Reduce Extreme Poverty in NigeriaThe United States and Nigeria established diplomatic relations in 1960, when Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom. Since then, the United States and Nigeria have improved their relationship and developed bilateral representation. On October 4, 2017, the U.S. gave the government of Nigeria $17 million as part of their 2015 Development Objectives Assistance Agreement.

According to the announcement released by the United States Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria, the funding will be divided to “support Nigeria’s power sector needs ($14 million), help increase agricultural productivity and economic growth ($2 million) and strengthen good governance ($1 million).” In total, the United States has provided $719 million to Nigeria under the agreement, which establishes four priority goals: improving governance, furthering economic development, expanding opportunity and enhancing stability, to be achieved in 2020.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) “is the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.” USAID partners with Nigeria to promote economic growth, equitable access to education and to clean water. In line with the four goals of the 2015 agreement, USAID’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy goal is to “reduce extreme poverty in a more stable, democratic Nigeria.”

According to the U.S. State Department, “Nigeria is the largest economy and most populous country in Africa with an estimated population of more than 180 million and an estimated gross domestic product of 510 billion USD in 2013.” Despite its economic prowess, Nigeria is also one of the poorest countries in the world, with a poverty rate of 64 percent.

Nigeria has the highest number of children out of school and the second-highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Nigeria’s large (and growing) population and wide wealth disparity greatly increase the issue of poverty. From 2004 to 2014, absolute poverty in Nigeria rose by 6 percent, while the number of millionaires living in the country in that period rose by more than 44 percent. The 2015 Development Objectives Assistance Agreement between the US and Nigeria is aimed at addressing these factors of Nigeria’s poverty epidemic.

With the recent investment from the U.S., Nigeria’s human rights and economic concerns will be addressed. USAID has a long history of assistance to Nigeria and the relations between the two countries span far beyond. The U.S. is the largest foreign investor in Nigeria and the countries belong to multiple international organizations together. Reducing extreme poverty in a stable, democratic Nigeria will reduce the wealth gap and promote the development of multiple sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

– Eliza Gresh

Photo: Flickr

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Pumpkins as a Solution to Poverty in Bangladesh and Uganda

Pumpkins

Every year, the citizens of Bangladesh have to contend with monsoon season, a cool, rainy period that usually lasts from June until October. Most parts of the country get at least 2000 millimeters of rain per year, and 80 percent of that falls during monsoon season. Northeastern Bangladesh is typically hit hardest, sometimes receiving over 4000 millimeters per year.

The heavy rains bring another problem: flooding. When rivers flood, they destroy both crops and nutrient-rich topsoil. As flood waters recede, they often leave behind large quantities of sand and silt, which reduces the availability of arable land.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) blames this problem in part for Bangladesh’s malnutrition epidemic. According to USAID, 25 percent of Bangladeshis remain food insecure, and women and children are affected most. Of children under five, 16 percent are acutely malnourished and 41 percent have stunted growth.

But one organization believes it has found a solution. Practical Action, an international NGO that uses technology to alleviate poverty in developing countries, has spent several years experimenting with various “sandbar cropping” techniques in Bangladesh. Their solution? Pumpkins.

Practical Action’s tried-and-true technique for farming pumpkins in the sand is to dig a pit in the sand and fill it with compost and a dozen pumpkin seeds. The pumpkins can grow and be harvested before monsoon season rolls around again.

Pumpkins provide a variety of health and logistical benefits. They can store for a year, providing a stable, reliable source of food. They are also a good source of Vitamin A, a nutrient often lacking in Bangladeshi diets. And in a nation where rivers often change course during monsoons and farmers thus lose their land, sandbar cropping provides more security.

This is why Practical Action started Pumpkins Against Poverty, a project to train 50,000 Bangladeshis with no land of their own to grow up to 600 pumpkins a year. Participants can use the extra income generated by selling the crop to buy livestock or send their children to school. The project will last until March 2018 and has the potential to be replicated nationwide.

Bangladesh is far from the only country to realize the value in farming pumpkins as a solution to poverty. Uganda has also embraced the crop as a profitable, nutritious foodstuff. Pumpkin varieties in Uganda are numerous and include Sweet Cream, Bala, Dulu, Onziga, Sunfish, Anderina and Sugar Pie, among others.

Fatuma Namatosi, founder of Ugandan agribusiness firm Byeffe Foods Company Ltd., decided to center her business on pumpkins, citing them as her favorite crop. The company makes pumpkin porridge, which is popular among children and gives them a vital nutrition boost. Byeffe also helps teach young Ugandans agricultural entrepreneurial skills and creates jobs in the field that employ thousands of young people.

Namatosi founded Byeffe in 2015. Since then, she says, “I’ve provided more accessible and nutritious food options to communities across Uganda, created a variety of agricultural jobs that generate income for families, and empowered more people like me, especially young women, to create their own path in the agriculture industry.” All that progress comes down to pumpkins.

– Chuck Hasenauer

Photo: Flickr

Young Business Leaders in Tanzania Development

Young Business Leaders in Tanzania Revolutionize DevelopmentIt has been two years since Abella Bateyunga, a 29-year-old woman from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, created the foundation to change lives of many young people in Tanzania. The foundation, known as the Tanzania Bora Initiative, aims to connect young Tanzanians that share the ambition to improve their country. The people in the initiative participate in data-involved projects, television shows based on politics and teach young girls to write computer code. The organization is one example of how young business leaders in Tanzania are revolutionizing development.

Sub-Saharan Africa has a lot of countries that are facing ‘youth bulge’ because of high fertility rates. In Tanzania alone, over 73 percent of the population is under the age of 30. With the help of USAID’s Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening and their partner, The International Republican Institute, Abella was able to create the Tanzania Bora Institute.

Bateyunga, a Governance Officer at the BBC Media Action in Tanzania, has been working with nonprofit organizations for over nine years. She also completed the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders for Civic Leadership in 2014. Bateyunga, a former lawyer and radio reporter, used her skill sets to develop ways to engage the Tanzanian youth in the driven strategies for employment and as a way to give youth their own voice.

Bateyunga is known for combining education and entertainment to encourage Tanzania’s youth to engage in their communities’ social, economic and political advancements. She encourages young leaders in Tanzania to realize their potential and ability to make a change where they feel it is needed. Abella continues to work on civic education programs in Tanzania today.

Two years after the creation of the Tanzania Bora Initiative, the positive changes can be seen not only in the Tanzanian media but in society as a whole. One of the projects implemented was Data Zetu, a way to make information meaningful and accessible for citizens and prompt them to take action in their communities. The young people of Tanzania gather data from the local government on certain services, analyze it and then determine ways in which it may improve.

The projects implemented by Bateyunga demonstrate the ability of young business leaders in Tanzania to create a positive impact in society and development.

– Chloe Turner

Photo: Flickr

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USAID to Help Salvadorans with Youth Education Programs

Help SalvadoransThe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing job training to equip Salvadorans with skills they can use for future employment and economic opportunities. Larry Sacks, the former USAID and El Salvador Mission Director, was in El Salvador in 1999 and was fearful of the violence that he experienced. He became aware that many Salvadorans are threatened by similar violence every day, and has since been part of USAID initiatives to help Salvadorans.

Youth are the primary victims of violence in El Salvador. Furthermore, many young people have a hard time accessing basic healthcare. Due to the low quality and limited access to basic health services, 41 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases in El Salvador are among young people age 15 to 19.

Poverty, along with the lack of education and job opportunities, forces youth to migrate across international borders to seek better opportunities. Most make their way to the United States,  however many enter illegally. As a result, they have limited access to healthcare and social security in the U.S. as well. This puts young adults at a higher risk of becoming a part of youth gangs, participating in criminal activities and substance abuse.

USAID provides aid that will help Salvadorans thrive, eliminating the need for high rates of migration to other states. USAID is partnering with the government of El Salvador, the Ministry of Education, private sector partners and higher education institutions in both the U.S. and El Salvador.

The activities provided are directed towards young adults at the lower secondary level, grades seven to nine, as they are most susceptible to dropping out of school and most vulnerable to joining gangs.

The education programs that USAID has provided in El Salvador, particularly in high-crime areas, help to keep more than 100,000 youth in school. By providing young Salvadorans with education and a safe environment, they are less likely to join gangs. Further, with USAID’s new programs, over 20,000 youth have now received job training.

– Chloe Turner

Photo: Flickr