In China’s Anti-Poverty Fight, Minorities Worry About Ethnic Targeting

China has begun ambitious plans to end extreme poverty in the country by the end of 2020. Although well-intentioned at first glance, the campaign’s integrity has been called into question.

Southwest China. wnstnsmth. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Aiming to end extreme poverty by 2021, the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary, President Xi Jinping has launched mass relocations of entire villages in rural southwest China. Over 6,600 members of the Yi ethnic minority group have already been uprooted to custom-built towns commissioned by China’s government. 

According to Sichuan province’s party secretary Peng Qinghua, about 80 billion yuan, equivalent to $12 billion, has already been spent to relocate 1.4 million residents. The freshly built towns consist of almost 400,000 homes and approximately 70,000 miles of roads. 

These mass relocations seem to contradict Jinping’s original strategy of “Targeted Poverty Alleviation” that he announced in 2013, which in theory would focus on helping individual families through an organized registration system. Now the Communist Party has changed its plan, announcing that ending extreme poverty is  impossible without targeting entire communities. 

Since millions of rural residents have already been uprooted, many are concerned that the Chinese Communist Party may have a hidden agenda. Specifically, residents fear that mass relocations are intended to force out minority groups to consolidate power among the Han population, China’s predominant ethnic group. The move has come with lifestyle changes for residents, many of whom have received  jobs such as babysitting and plantation labor in China’s metropolitan areas. There exists a generational disagreement among residents as well. Older residents have expressed dissatisfaction with such sudden shifts in land ownership and daily routines, while the younger generation seems somewhat more open to the changes. 

Part of the government’s funding has focused on upholding the Yi language of Nuosu with support for TV shows, local newspapers and bilingual programs. 

This action by the government toward the Yi minority contradicts its previous statements made in favor of entirely erasing minority languages. For instance, the government judged that the language of the Uyghurs is “out of step” and should be replaced with Mandarin. 

The government keeps no secret that its poverty reduction initiative intends to promote fundamental social change. Lin Shucheng, party boss for the rural Liangshan prefecture, states that mass relocations are aimed at dissolving what he calls “outdated habits,” such as poor personal hygiene and immoderate dowries. 

Although the campaign has been successful at eliminating extreme poverty, the government’s authoritarian measures and contradictory mandates keep residents wary of the future. 

Ella Nguyen

is an undergraduate student at Vassar College pursuing a degree in Hispanic Studies. She wants to assist in the field of immigration law and hopes to utilize Spanish in her future projects. In her free time she enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and learning about cosmetics.

Iowa’s ‘Inland Hurricane’ Wreaks Havoc on Locals — and the World’s Food Supply

On Aug. 10, Iowa and much of the United States’ Midwest experienced one of the most damaging storms seen in recent history. Hurricanes usually strike states like Florida and Louisiana, so the idea of one ravaging a landlocked state like Iowa was something residents were not prepared to face. After nearly a week, the Midwest is finally free of the devastating derecho, and now some are coining it as “Iowa’s Katrina.” 

The prolonged storms in Iowa are what the National Weather Service refers to as a derecho, a widespread, persistent windstorm associated with a band of quick-moving showers or thunderstorms. Because these storms are so powerful, they tend to leave similar damage to hurricanes and tornadoes. “Straight-line wind damage,” when the wind gusts powerfully in one direction, generally concentrates the destruction caused by derechos. 

According to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, it barreled eastward across the Midwest, traveling 770 miles in just 14 hours. Since the storms, thousands are still without water and power, with Cedar Rapids being one of the hardest-hit cities. According to Greg Smith, the city’s fire chief, more than 800 buildings have partially collapsed and more than 20 school buildings in Cedar Rapids have been damaged.

Cornfields on an Iowa farm. inkknife_2000. CC BY-SA 2.0.

This sweeping derecho  impacts not only Iowans and Midwesterners but also the world’s food supply. According to Iowa’s Gov. Kim Reynolds, this storm destroyed at least one-third of Iowa’s crops, which is about 10 million acres. Tens of millions of bushels of stored grain were blown away by extreme winds as well.

Soy farm in Iowa. User1778011. Pixabay.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said in total, 14 million acres of insured crops were in the path of the derecho. About 3.57 million acres of corn and 2.5 million acres of soybeans in 36 counties were damaged or destroyed during the storms. 

As the United States is one of the largest exporters of soy and the top exporter of corn, this could place a strain on domestic and international food and feed supplies. Iowa and Illinois, the top corn-producing states, typically grow about one-third of the U.S. crop. The widespread devastation of crops in the region only increases the burden on an already strained agricultural industry recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Damage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alli_jakoubek. Instagram.

While this event has been classified as a federal emergency, Iowa residents and farmers will not see much assistance. The federal major disaster declaration approved on Aug. 17 does not include financial assistance for Iowans despite President Donald Trump tweeting that he approved the state's application in "FULL." Gov. Kim Reynolds' request for $82.7 million to cover the 8,273 homes that were damaged or destroyed was not approved. Also denied were her requests for $3.77 billion for damage to farmland, grain bins and buildings along with a request for $100 million toward private utilities repair. The state did receive $45 million from the federal government to put toward recovery. 

This storm has shown the importance of states like Iowa as the repercussions of the derecho radiate across borders. For suppliers reliant on corn and soy as well as farmers who use the crops for feed, the derecho has depleted essential supplies already strained by the pandemic. While very little international attention has been given to this derecho, Midwestern farmers’ vital role in agriculture is essential to the world.

Renee Richardson

is currently an English student at The University of Georgia. She lives in Ellijay, Georgia, a small mountain town in the middle of Appalachia. A passionate writer, she is inspired often by her hikes along the Appalachian trail and her efforts to fight for equality across all spectrums. She hopes to further her passion as a writer into a flourishing career that positively impacts others.

A Three-Pronged Crisis Hits Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is calling for international aid after its inflation rate increased to over 700%. The southern African country’s inhabitants are facing not only a humanitarian crisis, but also a hunger crisis on top of the problems created by COVID-19. The World Food Program warns that by the end of the year, 60% of Zimbabwe’s inhabitants will be food insecure. 

The Humanitarian Crisis

The 2017 overthrow of the country’s former dictator, Robert Mugabe, brought dreams of change to the entire country as Emmerson Mnangagwa took over. Mnangagwa, a member of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF political party, promised better days and pledged to create a new democracy. However, he has not delivered and instead kept the “old authoritarian regime.”. Mnangagwa’s failure to deliver any new form of government has brought on “a crisis reminiscent of the regime’s darkest hours.” The streets of Zimbabwean cities have been filled with protesters calling for change, with many being arrested at first sight as military police stand on “maximum alert.” Despite the country’s many crises, there have been no substantive changes or public messages from Mnangagwa himself. The ruling ZANU-PF’s top response: arresting political opponents and “banning anti-corruption protests”. 

Additionally, Zimbabwe faces huge unemployment rates in the cities, overwhelming rural areas as “migrants return to their villages.” As family heads can no longer support their households, , a new problem has arisen: child prostitution. Now, children are “playing hide and seek with police” as they line the streets, eager to bring home what little money they can to feed their families. 

The Hunger Crisis 

Currently, Zimbabwe is facing problems with farmers harvesting less than half of the country’s yearly needs. This comes as the country faces its third consecutive year of drought, an issue that could become much worse as Zimbabwe enters into the “lean season.” The year has only yielded about “1.1 million tonnes of maize, the country’s staple crop.” Subsistence farmers make up about three-quarters of Zimbabwe’s population, and the continued drought is just perpetuating the country’s severe food crisis. The World Food Program (WFP) says the situation has led to “emergency levels of hunger,” and it plans to bring aid to about 5 million people at the start of next year’s “lean season.”

The Impact of COVID-19 on Zimbabwe

COVID-19 has ravaged the entire world, but the impacts have been even more extreme in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. With over 4,600 cases and 104 deaths, many speculate that the government has inaccurately reported numbers of COVID-19 cases, effectively downplaying the full extent of the catastrophe. President Mnangagwa has taken measures to close the country’s borders and to shut down nightlife through curfews, but cases have spiked anyway. The Zimbabwean government recently released a statement saying it was “concerned over reports of unauthorized persons issuing statements regarding virus test results.” It has been stated that Zimbabwe, along with South Sudan, is among the most vulnerable countries in Africa due to its relatively low level of development, lack of aid and internal political conflicts. 

Ultimately, Zimbabwe is facing a crisis from several fronts as it fights for survival amid a pandemic, poor harvests and an ailing economy. The country’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has called for international aid in light of his country’s crisis. Additionally, the United Nations’ food agency has called for an additional $250 million to put toward relief efforts. Lola Castro, WFP’s regional director for southern Africa, stated that it “needs the international community to step up now to help us prevent a potential humanitarian catastrophe.”

Elizabeth Misnick

is a Professional Writing and Rhetoric major at Baylor University. She grew up in a military family and lived in Europe for almost half her life, traveling and living in different countries. She hopes to continue writing professionally throughout her career and publish her writing in the future.

The Continued Abuse of Australia’s ‘Stolen Generation’

The term “Stolen Generation” was coined after deeply discriminatory government policies were passed in Australia between 1910 and 1970. This was due to the fact that many Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes under the pretense of “assimilation” into “white society.” Assimilation was based on the “assumption of Black inferiority and white superiority, which proposed the Indigenous people should be allowed to ‘die out’ through a process of natural elimination or, where possible, assimilation into the white community.” This tragedy led to children being torn from their families, taught to reject their culture, forced to not speak their native languages and required to adopt white culture in new white families they were brought into. 

Aboriginal people of white parentage, known at the time by the derogatory term “half-castes,” were most at risk of being removed from their homes since it was thought they would be easier to assimilate into white culture because of their lighter skin. Many were abused and neglected, and they received minimal education due to the assumption that the highest they would go was indentured servitude or work as manual laborers. The ensuing trauma has caused both the children and families mental trauma while the continued societal abuse such as stolen wages and racial discrimination was and still is prevalent. This is especially evident in statistics such as incarceration numbers and yearly wages. After George Floyd’s death, “debate raged about Australia’s own history.” By looking into the Australian national statistics, it was revealed the distrimination from back in the early 1900s has continued into the present. 

Stolen Wages Still Prevalent Today

“Back in the early 1970s, Aboriginal people living in remote areas were being paid as little as 19% of the non-Aborginial population.” The average Indigenous income is roughly only 44% of the median non-Indigenous income, though the gap is starting to close for the 37% of the Indigenous population living in Australia’s major cities. 20% of the Indigenous population living in cities is still living in poverty, though, along with more than half of those living in rural areas. Even more concerning, “about 10% of the Indigenous population also received no income at all and that includes government payments. It is unclear how these people survive.”

Largest Incarcerated Population in the World 

An even more shocking statistic was found in 2018 that “100% of children being held in youth detention in the (Northern) Territory are Aborginal.” They are currently the most incarcerated people in the world - not always for committing crimes. Tanya Day was arrested for sleeping on a train, later dying from repeated head injuries in jail. Additionally, a woman named Ms. Dhu was found dead in jail due to untreated injuries caused by prior family violence and abuse. The coroner said her medical care was “deficient” since the police refused to treat her, believing she was “faking it.” There have been serious concerns about racial profiling that have been directly correlated to arrests made - and the arrests not made. It was found that “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up about 2% of the general population but represent 28% of those in prison.” It has been estimated that in the last 29 years, one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island person has died every three weeks in jail. 

Higher Levels of Domestic Violence, Abuse and Poverty

Another impact of Aboriginals being forced to assimilate into white communities is a staggering amount of domestic violence and abuse. Aboriginal women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalized from domestic abuse; however, when Aboriginal women try to call police for help, they are often arrested instead for defending themselves. This has also led to the statistic that Indigenous people have a lower life expectancy than the average non-Indigenous person, by an estimated 9 years. This has been blamed on factors such as poverty, poor health care, lack of healthy food, low living standards and more. 

The reality of today’s society in Australia is the hidden discrimination that started in the early 1900s and prevails even today. With the recent global reaction to racial discrimination and slavery, a closer look into Australia’s history has revealed these revelations that have often been covered up and disputed. Efforts to increase awareness of the current state of affairs in the country have been underway and protests continue despite an absence of widespread media coverage.

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Elizabeth Misnick

Elizabeth is a Professional Writing and Rhetoric major at Baylor University. She grew up in a military family and lived in Europe for almost half her life, traveling and living in different countries. She hopes to continue writing professionally throughout her career and publish her writing in the future.

How the Coronavirus is Impacting Children in Foster Care

The threat of the novel coronavirus has forced many of us to shelter in place, leaving more than 17 million Americans without jobs. Just last week, 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits, according to the Washington Post. Also impacted are the children and adolescents in foster care--an already flawed system--and in some cases, broken. 

On any given day, there are about 440,000 children in foster care in the United States, according to Children’s Rights, a nonprofit organization advocating for better child welfare systems in America. The health and economic disaster is putting the vulnerable youth at more of a risk to be abused, to have nowhere to live, and to be separated from their families. 

Family courts are shutting down, but children are still being removed from homes where neglect or abuse is suspected, according to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit journalism organization that focuses on criminal justice issues. Without open family courts, children who are not being abused or neglected by their parents/guardians cannot go back home, and because programs like parenting classes and drug treatment are currently cancelled, parents are unable to prove they are ready to get their children back.

Doctors are concerned that stress from food insecurity, unemployment, and risk of illness will cause the rate of physical abuse to rise. Because of social distancing, children living in abusive homes are isolated from people like teachers and school staff who care and are obligated to file reports of mistreatment, alleged or not. Not enough research has been done about how many foster children experience abuse from a foster parent, but one study of foster children in Oregon and Washington found that nearly one third reported abuse in their foster homes, not including abuse from other foster children. A Psychology Today article reported that over 28% of children in foster care in New York are abused while in the system. These underreported statistics and studies were conducted under normal circumstances, so it can be safely assumed that the number of foster children facing abuse during the coronavirus pandemic is higher. According to The Marshall Project, “the Trump administration’s Children’s Bureau last week said that in extraordinary circumstances, the in-person requirement can be waived,” so child welfare agencies are trying to come up with alternatives to in-person check ins like videochatting. The problem with videochat is, although the child welfare agent can see the child, they do not know who may be in the same room as them and cannot see the reality of the child’s living situation.

In addition to fears of increased child abuse, social workers are finding it difficult to find foster parents for children who have not been placed in foster homes prior to shelter-in-place orders. Some foster parents are worried about accepting new foster children because they don’t know if they may have been in contact with someone who has the coronavirus. According to The Marshall Project, fears that foster children will become homeless or resort to couch-surfing are increasing as group homes become understaffed due to caretakers staying at home, and elderly foster parents are unable to be around young people. If child services cannot find safe places to house foster children, the already vulnerable population runs a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus and spreading it further.

Asiya Haouchine

is an Algerian-American writer who graduated from the University of Connecticut in May 2016, earning a BA in journalism and English. She was an editorial intern and contributing writer for Warscapes magazine and the online/blog editor for Long River Review. She is currently studying for her Master’s in Library and Information Science. @AsiyaHaou

In Tanzania, a Garden That Feeds Bellies and Brains

For O’Brien School for the Maasai teacher Saphi Yohana, growing a garden isn’t just a nice thing to do—it’s a way keep kids in the classroom. Most of the school’s students come from the Maasai tribe, once an exclusively nomadic people who traditionally eat milk, meat, blood and fat. As increased droughts have made this diet less and less attainable, malnourishment has spread. By providing two veggie-based meals a day, the O’Brien School is now greeting energized, happy students each morning and sending them home each afternoon to spread a passion for produce.

Why We’re Involved in a Project in Africa to Promote Edible Insects

There is a wealth of indigenous knowledge about capturing and eating insects in sub-Saharan Africa. But the development of edible insects as a food industry has been very slow, despite its many potential benefits.

Sustainability is one. Insects have a small carbon and water footprint. Studies show that insect farming emits less carbon and methane gas than large livestock like cattle and pigs. Much less water is needed to produce the same amount of protein. Insects use feed more efficiently than other sources of animal protein. Farming them could be a new source of jobs and income.

There should be more awareness and promotion of insects as food for humans and as feed for animals, especially at the policy, legislative and business level. In most African nations, edible insects are still viewed as an insignificant source of food and even, in some instances, as food for the poor. There are very few success stories of large-scale insect farming and industrial use in Africa.

We have been involved in a project to promote the integrated use of insects as food in urban areas in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our project works on the edible insect value chain and discovered that the seasonal supply of insects and poor hygiene standards made the market unstable and unattractive to consumers. Traders sold insects in an informal setting and had little interaction with farmers.

We carried out training among farmers, traders, municipalities and others with an interest in this emerging industry. The training included how to handle and process insects after they were harvested, food safety along the value chain and farming crickets (Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bumaculatus).

The trainees have learnt how to rear and sell insects better and have become more aware of what a sustainable value chain should look like. For example, market facilities have to be clean and there must be a steady supply of insects. The training also created awareness of the need to farm insects rather than catching them in the wild. Catching insects can reduce insect populations dramatically when consumption increases. And there are no food safety standards for wild insects.

Together with the urban council in the town of Chinhoyi in Zimbabwe we built a model market structure where traders are selling their insects. Traders are selling some of the most popular edible insects; wild harvested mopane worms (Gonimbrasia belina), termites (Macrotermes natalensis) and wild harvested crickets. Farmers are still building stocks of farmed crickets, but the plan is to sell farmed crickets in the near future. It is still too early to see the impact but one notable improvement is hygiene. The market has also helped women traders, who are the main group selling insects there. They have become more organised about their business.

We hope this will lead to an increase in consumer willingness to buy edible insects, and demonstrate best practice to other regions of Zimbabwe and beyond. Through our project, we have also helped insect traders and farmers to form industry associations.

Why insects are valuable

Insects are highly nutritious and contain protein, fat and energy in proportions similar to grains, vegetables and seeds. They are rich in macro minerals like calcium, sodium and magnesium and micro minerals like zinc, manganese, iron and copper, all of which should be part of a healthy diet. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, these minerals come from fruits and vegetables, most of which are farmed seasonally. Edible insects could supply these minerals during seasons where there is less fruit and vegetable production.

They contain essential amino acids such as threonine, cysteine, valine, methionine and isoleucine. The recommended daily minimum intake of amino acids can be consumed by eating just 100 grams of the edible stink bug (Encosternum delegorguei), for example.

Earlier this year, parts of eastern and southern Africa were ravaged by Cyclone Idai. The cyclone destroyed crops and livestock, causing severe food shortages. We believe that in disaster-struck areas, edible insects can build resilience by being a food resource in recovery programmes and an alternative to traditional smallholder farming. There is an excellent example of that in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where orphanages have started insect farms to grow their own protein. The farms have helped decrease hunger and improve health among the orphans.

Read more: Economic chaos is causing a food security and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe

What needs to happen?

We were involved in setting up an international conference in Zimbabwe to discuss ways to foster the edible insects industry.

Research is required so that policy makers and those involved in the sector – farmers, processes, marketers and consumers – can make evidence-based decisions. This must happen across disciplines. Researchers should work with farmers and people in business to foster skills, innovation and enterprise. For example, they could develop business cases and scenarios.

Policy makers must understand that the sector is unique. Edible insects have not been categorised under any agricultural sub-sector such as crop or animal farming. On the African continent, they have not previously been farmed and treated as a commodity. That is why it would be helpful to establish and coordinate platforms such as meetings, workshops, exhibitions, magazines and websites.

Policy should also allow innovation and investment to happen at national, regional and international levels. Industry participants will need access to markets and credit.

Farmers, food and feed processors, traders and marketers must seize opportunities to invest and enter niche markets. They can also contribute to policy development and share knowledge about traditional ways of producing and eating insects.

There is momentum generated by several research and business initiatives that have been ignited in sub-Saharan Africa. And there is growing enthusiasm for using edible insects as alternative sources of protein and to build resilience against climatic shocks. It’s an essential step towards improving food security in the region.

Robert Musundire is a Associate Professor of Entomology in the Department of Crop Science and Post-Harvest Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

Why Food Waste is a Major Issue

And what you can do about it.

Produce is commonly wasted as there is a high preference to purchase based on aesthetics. David Schofield. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Globally, one-third of all food that is produced goes to waste. That is equivalent to 1.3 billion tons of food a year. This is food that is still edible yet is disposed at many points in the supply chain. Food can be commonly lost during harvesting due to lack of infrastructure, poor storage, or unfavorable weather. This is more common in developing countries. In most Western countries the opposite is true, with a higher percentage of losses at the consumer and retail level.

 Consumer losses in the US are often due to inconsistencies in food labeling, improper storage or over-purchasing. The dates placed on food products, often accompanied by a “best by” or a “use by” label, are not regulated by the FDA and vary greatly between states. Often these dates are promoting a level of food quality not food safety, meaning that the food is still safe to eat after the date; it just won’t be at its peak quality. A study done by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic found that more than a third of people always dispose of food by the date and up to 84% occasionally do. A different study estimates that having a standardized food labeling system could reduce food waste in the US by 400,000 tons a year. Additionally, about half of states have restrictions or completely prevent food donations after the “best by” date leading to even more waste from grocery stores with no choice but to discard food. A federal bill first introduced in 2016 would change both of these, if it could get passed into law.

 Another major area of waste in the US is the prepared food industry. This spans past restaurants to include other institutions such as hotels, college cafeterias, and hospitals. A single restaurant makes between 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of waste in a year. 84% of this waste ends up in landfills instead of composting or food donations. In addition, $57 billion is lost by consumer-facing businesses due to food waste.  

 A goal introduced by the UN to cut food waste in half by 2030 would help carbon emissions considerably. Food waste globally contributes to 8% of GHG emissions, putting it on par with road transportation. Cereals, vegetables, and meat have the highest potential for change on a consumer level based on the combined value of carbon footprint and waste percentage. This is especially true in high-income countries. The US has the second highest GHG emissions in the world. Putting in an effort to buy less food, cook less food, and compost waste is an easy way to make a difference on an individual level. As well as supporting organizations that work to redistribute food and restaurants that follow more sustainable practices.

 Food waste is a problem on many levels. It is not just left-over food, but also the accumulation of all the energy, labor, and emissions that went into the product. It is wasted money and lack-of-profit for businesses and the economy. It is food that is not reaching those that need it and it is a major contributor to climate change, but it doesn’t have to be. 

DEVIN O’DONNELL’s interest in travel was cemented by a multi-month trip to East Africa when she was 19. Since then, she has continued to have immersive experiences on multiple continents. Devin has written for a start-up news site and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Neuroscience.

Health Needs in Migrant and Refugee Communities

Lack of access to health care, trauma, and poor living conditions all contribute to public health concerns of migrant populations.

The Patrons of Veracruz provide food for migrants traveling across Mexico. Giacomo Bruno. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

 Over the years of the Trump Administration, stories of maltreatment of migrants either at the border, or well-established in country, keep surfacing. This pattern is mirrored in other countries around the world, often with a large anti-immigration rhetoric. In the US, this has stemmed from a dislike and distrust of illegal immigrants but often spreads to legal migrants and refugees as well, at a huge health cost to those trying to enter.

 Trump’s policies to reduce numbers crossing the Mexican border include a, now revoked, policy to separate children from their families and a Remain in Mexico policy that prevents migrants from entering the US while waiting for asylum cases. With this policy over 50,000 migrants have been sent to wait in Mexico. They now live in overcrowded camps with limited access to health care. NGOs struggle to keep up with increasing numbers and problems such as clean water and waste management. US policies are supposed to allow children and those ill or pregnant to remain in the States, but this policy is often ignored.

Once in the US, it is still difficult to access care. Detention centers are overcrowded and trauma from being separated from family can lead to many mental health issues. Migrants are not covered by government programs and have to seek health care through out-of-pocket costs or community health and non-profit organizations. Language and fear limit many from getting care when something might be wrong. Poor migrant working conditions and food insecurity have lasting impacts on migrant health once in the country.

 Australia has had similar policies to deter migrants by sending them to wait for asylum on nearby pacific islands where resources are lacking. In 2018, there were almost 1500 detained in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Health organizations working on the islands found a massive mental health crisis with one third of the 208 people treated on Nauru having attempted suicide. It was found that in the 2017-2018 financial year, the Australian government spent over $320,000 fighting medical transfer requests.

 The US and Australia have showcased how inhumane policies surrounding immigration comes at a great health cost. But the majority of refugees and migrants, aren’t in the US and Australia, they are in countries neighboring conflict. In fact, 86% of migrants are in developing countries. Jordan has been extremely generous with accepting refugees from neighboring countries but a large influx during the Syrian Civil War is straining Jordan’s ability to provide. In 2018, they had to increase the cost of medical treatment for refugees, which before 2014 was free, now leaving most refugees unable to cover basic health costs.

 The World Health Organization is working to try to make sure migrant health needs are met but with 258 million international migrants, 68 million of which are refugees, it is not an easy job. 

DEVIN O’DONNELL’s interest in travel was cemented by a multi-month trip to East Africa when she was 19. Since then, she has continued to have immersive experiences on multiple continents. Devin has written for a start-up news site and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Neuroscience.

How Asia Transformed from the Poorest Continent in the World into a Global Economic Powerhouse

In 1820, Asia accounted for two-thirds of the world’s population and more than one-half of global income. The subsequent decline of Asia was attributed to its integration with a world economy shaped by colonialism and driven by imperialism. 

By the late 1960s, Asia was the poorest continent in the world when it came to income levels, marginal except for its large population. Its social indicators of development, among the worst anywhere, epitomised its underdevelopment. The deep pessimism about Asia’s economic prospects, voiced by the Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal in his 1968 book Asian Drama, was widespread at the time.

In the half century since then, Asia has witnessed a profound transformation in terms of the economic progress of its nations and the living conditions of its people. By 2016, as my analysis of UN data shows, it accounted for 30% of world income, 40% of world manufacturing, and over one-third of world trade, while its income per capita converged towards the world average. 

This transformation was unequal across countries and between people. Even so, predicting it would have required an imagination run wild. Asia’s economic transformation in this short time-span is almost unprecedented in history. My new book, Resurgent Asia, looks at this phenomenal change.

Given the size and the diversity of the Asian continent, looking at the region as a whole is not always appropriate. So in my research, I’ve disaggregated Asia into its four constituent sub-regions – East, South-East, South and West Asia – and further into 14 selected countries described as the Asian-14. These are China, South Korea and Taiwan in East Asia; Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in South-East Asia; Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in South Asia; and Turkey in West Asia. These countries account for more than four-fifths of the population and income of the continent. Japan is not included in the study because it is a high income country in Asia, and was already industrialised 50 years ago. 

The bright lights of Shenzen, China. zhangyang13576997233/Shutterstock

It’s essential to recognise the diversity of Asia. There have been marked differences between countries in geographical size, embedded histories, colonial legacies, nationalist movements, initial conditions, natural resource endowments, population size, income levels and political systems. The reliance on markets and the degree of openness of economies has varied greatly across countries and over time. 

Across Asia, the politics has also ranged widely from authoritarian regimes or oligarchies to political democracies. So did ideologies, from communism, to state capitalism and capitalism. Development outcomes differed across space and over time too. There were different paths to development, because there were no universal solutions, magic wands, or silver bullets.

Absolute poverty persists

Despite such diversity, there are common discernible patterns. Economic growth drove development. Growth rates of GDP and GDP per capita in Asia have been stunning and far higher than elsewhere in the world.

Rising investment and savings rates combined with the spread of education were the underlying factors. Growth was driven by rapid industrialisation, often led by exports and linked with changes in the composition of output and employment. It was supported by coordinated economic policies, unorthodox wherever and whenever necessary, across sectors and over time.

Rising per capita incomes transformed social indicators of development, as literacy rates and life expectancy rose everywhere. There was also a massive reduction in absolute poverty. But the scale of absolute poverty that persists, despite unprecedented growth, is just as striking as the sharp reduction of poverty that happened between 1984 and 2012, according to data from the World Bank. 

The poverty reduction could have been much greater but for the rising inequality. Inequality between people within countries rose almost everywhere, except South Korea and Taiwan. Yet the gap between the richest and poorest countries in Asia remains awesome and the ratio of GDP per capita in the richest and poorest country in Asia was more than 100:1 in both 1970 and 2016.

The role of governments

Economic openness has performed a critical supportive role in Asian development, wherever it was in the form of strategic integration with the world economy, rather than passive insertion into it. For example, trade policy was liberal for exports but restrictive for imports. Government policies towards foreign investment have been shaped by industrial policy in the pursuit of national development objectives. While openness was necessary for successful industrialisation, it was not sufficient and facilitated industrialisation only when combined with industrial policy. 

In the half-century economic transformation of Asia, governments performed a vital role, ranging from leader to catalyst or supporter. Success at development in Asia was about managing this evolving relationship between states and markets, by finding the right balance in their respective roles that also changed over time.

The developmental states in South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore coordinated policies across sectors over time in pursuit of national development objectives, using carrot-and-stick policy to implement their agenda, and were able to become industrialised nations in just 50 years. China emulated these developmental states with much success, and Vietnam followed on the same path two decades later, as both countries have strong one-party communist governments that could coordinate and implement policies.

It is not possible to replicate these states elsewhere in Asia. But other countries, such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Turkey, did manage to evolve some institutional arrangements, even if less effective, that were conducive to industrialisation and development. In some of these countries, the checks and balances of political democracies were crucial to making governments more orientated towards development and people-friendly.

The rise of Asia represents the beginnings of a shift in the balance of economic power in the world and some erosion in the political dominance of the West. The future will be shaped partly by how Asia exploits the opportunities and meets the challenges and partly by how the difficult economic and political conjuncture in the world unfolds. 

Yet it’s plausible to suggest that by around 2050, a century after the end of colonial rule, Asia will account for more than one-half of world income and will be home to more than half of the people on earth. It will have an economic and political significance in the world that would have been difficult to imagine 50 years ago, even if it was the reality in 1820.

Deepak Nayyar is an Emeritus Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

Misfits Market: A Cheaper, More Sustainable Way to Buy Groceries

Quirky produce doesn’t have to be thrown out

Markets typically like to display “perfect” produce. Photo by Ja Ma.

Have you ever felt excited when you found a cute mini potato in your groceries? Or marveled at a cool way that carrots grew intertwined together? Produce with quirks can be fascinating, and not dangerous to eat. However, many supermarkets have become obsessed with finding the “perfect” produce—the picture-perfect produce that customers would want to buy. Therefore, the produce that don’t fit the bill will end up as waste. 

Misfits Market is a service that simultaneously helps the world and your wallet. They collect food from farmers that would normally go to waste, and package it to sell to their customers. The customers get their produce at a markdown of up to 50% compared to regular grocery stores, while the farmers are able to make extra money. So, customers save money, farmers make money, and both Misfits Market and their patrons are working to reduce the 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide that are generated annually because of food waste. 

Misfits Market makes life easier by delivering your groceries straight to your door. You can subscribe to the Mischief Box or a larger Madness Box, that can be delivered either once a week or every other week. Misfits Market delivers to a large number of states in the US, but it is growing quickly. The produce varies by season, and is always organic. 

Additionally, their packaging is entirely eco-friendly. The boxes are recyclable and compostable, and the insulation to protect the produce from the elements during delivery is also home-compostable. Misfits Market’s website gives directions for how to compost the insulation at home. 

Check out Misfits Market’s blog to see recipes to make with their produce.

ELIANA DOFT loves to write, travel, and volunteer. She is especially excited by opportunities to combine these three passions through writing about social action travel experiences. She is an avid reader, a licensed scuba diver, and a self-proclaimed cold brew connoisseur. 

Venezuela’s Power Struggle Reaches a Tense Stalemate, as Human Suffering Deepens

Even in a country where crisis has become the norm, the past month has been eventful for Venezuela.

On April 3 Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan National Assembly president who is leading an effort to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity. Arrest seems increasingly likely. Guaidó’s chief-of-staff was jailed on March 22, on charges of organizing a “terrorist cell.”

Two days later, two Russian military planes carrying 35 tons of unspecified equipment and 100 soldiers landed at the international airport in Caracas.

Meanwhile, three blackouts left over 90 percent of the country in the dark. Since water pumps need electricity to run, neighborhoods and families were forced to organize water rationing systems or fetch water from polluted rivers and streams.

Maduro blames the blackouts on “sabotage” by Guaidó and the United States. The opposition blames government corruption and neglect of Venezuela’s energy grid.

Thousands of Venezuelans protesting the power outages on March 30 were met with violent repression. Counter-protestors came out to support the Maduro government.

These extraordinary events may give the appearance that armed conflict is on the horizon. But having researched Venezuela for over 25 years, I believe a prolonged deadlock – and deeper human suffering – is the more likely result.

International conflict

Each side in Venezuela’s political struggle has powerful international backers.

Guaidó has been coordinating with the Trump administration since before assuming the interim presidency, and Trump has made regime change in Venezuela a foreign policy priority. Over 50 countries now recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó at a rally in Caracas, March 29, 2019. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Maduro’s government retains important support from Cuba, Turkey and China – though China, which has loaned Venezuela some $60 billionover the last 12 years, has diminished its public backing of Maduro.

Russia has become Maduro’s most important ally. The Russian military equipment and personnel sent in March will likely help maintain and operate Venezuela’s sophisticated Russian-made S-300 air defense system, which protects the capital and key military bases from air attack.

The missile defense system may have been damaged in recent power outages, or left understaffed by desertions from Venezuela’s military.

In a March 29 press statement, White House national security adviser John Bolton called Russia’s military assistance to Venezuela a “direct threat to international peace and security in the region” that will “perpetuate the economic crisis that has destroyed Venezuela’s economy.”

Russian officials retorted that the deployment is part of a prior bilateral arms trade agreement with Venezuela.

“The United States is present in many parts of the world and no one is telling it where it should or shouldn’t be,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a March 28 Kremlin press conference.

Regime change stalled

Venezuela’s opposition coalition and its allies in the U.S. appear to have thought that global rejection of Maduro’s re-election and Guaidó’s assuming the interim presidency – coupled with threats of a U.S. military invasion and sanctions on Venezuelan oil – would lead Venezuela’s armed forces to turn against Maduro. That would then usher in a democratic transition.

Eighty percent of Venezuelans oppose Maduro, but he retains some popular support – and the power of the Venezuelan armed forces. Miraflores Palace via Reuters

Recent events have shown that this strategy was simplistic.

More than 500 Venezuelan soldiers have defected to Colombia and Brazil. But most have stayed loyal, as have the generals who hold high positions in Maduro’s government. And Maduro has shown himself quite adept at using dispersed violence to discourage dissent.

Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated mentions of a “military option” for dealing with Venezuela, it’s become clear in recent weeks that the U.S. has no actual plans for military action. Indeed, it does not have significant military assets in position near Venezuela.

Venezuela’s armed forces are the fifth most powerful in Latin America, according to Global Fire Power, which ranks military strength. It has around 200,000 troops, a volunteer militia, plus paramilitary forces and a fleet of Russian Sukhoi fighter jets.

The presence of Russian troops in Venezuela further complicates any plans for U.S. intervention. Russia is a nuclear power, so incurring Russian casualties is probably too big of a risk for the U.S. to take.

Adam Isacson, a defense expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization, suggests that removing Maduro by force would not only kill thousands of people on the ground, it would likely require tens of thousands of U.S. troops to occupy Venezuela for years in order to stabilize it.

Outside of south Florida, where some 200,000 Venezuelan exiles are clamoring for Maduro’s ouster, few Americans would have an appetite for such a prolonged operation.

U.S. economic sanctions – which are now targeting Venezuelan oil – appear to be hurting the Venezuelan people more than Maduro’s government.

That will only make a democratic transition more elusive. Depriving the Venezuelan government of cash and credit will impede it from fixing the electrical grid by preventing the purchase of new equipment. And without electricity and water, Venezuelans, who in their vast majority oppose Maduro, will be concentrating on survival rather than protest.

Venezuelans protest water shortages in Caracas on March 31, 2019. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Working for peace

An international effort led by the European Union, Uruguay, Ecuador and Costa Rica is seeking to negotiate new elections. Calling itself the International Contact Group, this coalition has sent technical teams to Caracas twice to meet with the Maduro government and the opposition.

The International Contact Group has not actually found much interest on either side.

The opposition and its allies in the Trump administration still believethat their strategy of political pressure and economic punishment will lead to the government’s collapse. Maduro, it appears, thinks he can hunker down and wait out the storm.

There is one glimmer of hope.

After years of political wrangling over humanitarian aid, on March 29 the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that it had brokered agreements with both the Maduro government and the opposition. They will allow the Red Cross to distribute food and medicine to Venezuelans, who have suffered severe shortages of both since 2015.

The United Nations estimates that 94 percent of Venezuela’s population now lives in poverty, and a quarter of its people urgently need humanitarian assistance.

The Red Cross deal shows what can be achieved with “satellite diplomacy” – that is, negotiations that engage with rival factions independently rather than requiring them to meet face to face.

This is significant. It is the first time that this diplomatic technique has succeeded in Venezuela’s conflict.

In the best-case scenario, the humanitarian aid agreement will stick. And it could serve as a model for how international actors can facilitate a democratic transition in Venezuela.

DAVID SMILDE is a Professor of Sociology at Tulane University.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

How Urban Agriculture Can Improve Food Security in US Cities

During the partial federal shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, news reports showed furloughed government workers standing in line for donated meals. These images were reminders that for an estimated one out of eight Americans, food insecurity is a near-term risk.

In California, where I teach, 80 percent of the population lives in cities. Feeding the cities of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, with a total population of some 7 million involves importing 2.5 to 3 million tons of food per day over an average distance of 500 to 1,000 miles.

This system requires enormous amounts of energy and generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. It also is extremely vulnerable to large-scale disruptions, such as major earthquakes.

And the food it delivers fails to reach 1 of every 8 people in the region who live under the poverty line – mostly senior citizens, children and minorities. Access to quality food is limited both by poverty and the fact that on average, California’s low-income communities have 32.7 percent fewer supermarkets than high-income areas within the same cities.

Many organizations see urban agriculture as a way to enhance food security. It also offers environmental, health and social benefits. Although the full potential of urban agriculture is still to be determined, based on my own research I believe that raising fresh fruits, vegetables and some animal products near consumers in urban areas can improve local food security and nutrition, especially for underserved communities.

The growth of urban agriculture

Urban farming has grown by more than 30 percent in the United States in the past 30 years. Although it has been estimated that urban agriculture can meet 15 to 20 percent of global food demand, it remains to be seen what level of food self-sufficiency it can realistically ensure for cities.

One recent survey found that 51 countries do not have enough urban area to meet a recommended nutritional target of 300 grams per person per day of fresh vegetables. Moreover, it estimated, urban agriculture would require 30 percent of the total urban area of those countries to meet global demand for vegetables. Land tenure issues and urban sprawl could make it hard to free up this much land for food production.

Other studies suggest that urban agriculture could help cities achieve self-sufficiency. For example, researchers have calculated that Cleveland, with a population of 400,000, has the potential to meet 100 percent of its urban dwellers’ fresh vegetable needs, 50 percent of their poultry and egg requirements and 100 percent of their demand for honey.

Can Oakland’s urban farmers learn from Cuba?

Although urban agriculture has promise, a small proportion of the food produced in cities is consumed by food-insecure, low-income communities. Many of the most vulnerable people have little access to land and lack the skills needed to design and tend productive gardens.

Cities such as Oakland, with neighborhoods that have been identified as “food deserts,” can lie within a half-hour drive of vast stretches of productive agricultural land. But very little of the twenty million tons of food produced annually within 100 miles of Oakland reaches poor people.

Paradoxically, Oakland has 1,200 acres of undeveloped open space – mostly public parcels of arable land – which, if used for urban agriculture, could produce 5 to 10 percent of the city’s vegetable needs. This potential yield could be dramatically enhanced if, for example, local urban farmers were trained to use well-tested agroecological methods that are widely applied in Cuba to cultivate diverse vegetables, roots, tubers and herbs in relatively small spaces.

In Cuba, over 300,000 urban farms and gardens produce about 50 percent of the island’s fresh produce supply, along with 39,000 tons of meat and 216 million eggs. Most Cuban urban farmers reach yields of 44 pounds (20 kilograms) per square meter per year.

An organic farm in Havana, Cuba, that produces outputs averaging 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per square meter per year without agrochemical inputs. Miguel Altieri, CC BY-ND

If trained Oakland farmers could achieve just half of Cuban yields, 1,200 acres of land would produce 40 million kilograms of vegetables – enough to provide 100 kilograms per year per person to more than 90 percent of Oakland residents.

To see whether this was possible, my research team at the University of California at Berkeley established a diversified garden slightly larger than 1,000 square feet. It contained a total of 492 plants belonging to 10 crop species, grown in a mixed polycultural design.

In a three-month period, we were able to produce yields that were close to our desired annual level by using practices that improved soil health and biological pest control. They included rotations with green manures that are plowed under to benefit the soil; heavy applications of compost; and synergistic combinations of crop plants in various intercroppingarrangements known to reduce insect pests.

Research plots in Berkeley, Calif., testing agroecological management practices such as intercropping, mulching and green composting. Miguel Altieri, CC BY-ND

Overcoming barriers to urban agriculture

Achieving such yields in a test garden does not mean they are feasible for urban farmers in the Bay Area. Most urban farmers in California lack ecological horticultural skills. They do not always optimize crop density or diversity, and the University of California’s extension program lacks the capacity to provide agroecological training.

The biggest challenge is access to land. University of California researchers estimate that over 79 percent of the state’s urban farmers do not own the property that they farm. Another issue is that water is frequently unaffordable. Cities could address this by providing water at discount rates for urban farmers, with a requirement that they use efficient irrigation practices.

In the Bay Area and elsewhere, most obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture are political, not technical. In 2014 California enacted AB511, which set out mechanisms for cities to establish urban agriculture incentive zones, but did not address land access.

One solution would be for cities to make vacant and unused public land available for urban farming under low-fee multiyear leases. Or they could follow the example of Rosario, Argentina, where 1,800 residents practice horticulture on about 175 acres of land. Some of this land is private, but property owners receive tax breaks for making it available for agriculture.

In my view, the ideal strategy would be to pursue land reform similar to that practiced in Cuba, where the government provides 32 acres to each farmer, within a few miles around major cities to anyone interested in producing food. Between 10 and 20 percent of their harvest is donated to social service organizations such as schools, hospitals and senior centers.

Similarly, Bay Area urban farmers might be required to provide donate a share of their output to the region’s growing homeless population, and allowed to sell the rest. The government could help to establish a system that would enable gardeners to directly market their produce to the public.

Cities have limited ability to deal with food issues within their boundaries, and many problems associated with food systems require action at the national and international level. However, city governments, local universities and nongovernment organizations can do a lot to strengthen food systems, including creating agroecological training programs and policies for land and water access. The first step is increasing public awareness of how urban farming can benefit modern cities.

MIGUEL ALTIERI is a Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

The Violence and Poverty Honduran Migrants are Fleeing

In November of 2018, a caravan was tear gassed by the US Border Patrol, and US immigration policies are increasingly strict along the southern border. Still, many Hondurans endure the 1000-mile journey from Central America to the United States in hopes of obtaining a more peaceful and prosperous life.

Honduras is described by the Human Rights Watch as a place in which “impunity for crime and human rights abuses is the norm”. Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world. One of it’s largest cities, San Pedro Sula, was known as the murder capital of the world until 2016. The high murder rate can be attributed to an increase in gang activity in recent years. Because of a crack down on the drug trade in Colombia, Honduras has taken a larger role in the cocaine trade. Honduras is now a major transit zone for cocaine. Now, Gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (or MS-13) and Barro 18, terrorize locals in major cities. Some migrants understandably cite threats from gang members as their reason for leaving.

Certain viewpoints are ostracized by Honduran society, and activists and journalists are too often targeted by assassins. According to Global Witness, 111 Honduran environmental activists were murdered between 2002 and 2011. This shocking statistic led Global Witness to call Honduras “the most dangerous country to be an environmental activist. The vast majority of these cases go unsolved, including one high-profile case involving the murder of Berta Cáceres. Four government (or ex-government) officials have been tried for her murder, but the case was thrown away in 2018. Journalists face similar danger; between 2014 and 2016, 21 journalists were murdered, and only 9% of these murders were solved. Because of the high murder rate, officials find it difficult to keep up with cases, and many cases end up unsolved.

Women are especially susceptible to violence. According to the United Nations, one in five Honduran women experience physical or sexual violence. Femicide, the killing of women for their gender, is one of the highest in the world, accounting for 9.6% of the homicides in Honduras. Fewer than 3% of Femicide cases are resolved by the courts. Gender based hate crimes could explain the fact that women and children are migrating at higher rates than ever before.

According to the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, the Honduran people endure a government in which “[corruption] is the operating system of sophisticated networks that cross sectoral and national boundaries in their drive to maximize returns for their members”. No one better exemplifies corruption in Honduras than President Juan Orlando Hernández, a conservative, pro-business leader. Hernández almost lost the reelection in 2017, yet just as his opponent, Salvador Nasralla, was ahead in polls by 5 points, the Honduras Broadcast Commission (which was mostly staffed by Hernández appointees) ended the broadcast of the election. It was later announced that Hernández won the election. Hondurans suspected the election was corrupt, thus tens of thousands of Hondurans protested Hernández’s election only to be met with bullets, tear gas, and arrests. Organizations like the Organization for American States and the European Union found reasons to question the validity of the elections.  The Organization for American States found “Deliberate human intrusions in the computer system” and “intentional elimination of digital traces”. On the 1 year anniversary of Hernández’s election, January 27, 2019, protests broke out again.

According to the World Bank Group, 66% of Hondurans are living in poverty; 1 in 5 Hondurans have an income under $1.50 a day. Honduras is also burdened with the highest level of income inequality in Latin America. The per capita income of the average Honduran is $4,563.80, meager compared to the $60,200 per capita income in the United States. Given the circumstances, it is not difficult to understand why migrants are headed for the United States. The immigration process is lengthy and many Hondurans don’t have the time to wait for the United States to grant them visas legally. The immense poverty and crime has left many Hondurans with little choice other than to attempt immigration into the United States.

GINNY KEENAN is an NYU student currently studying abroad in London. She intends to major in journalism, and reads in her free time. She is always looking for new travel opportunities.

Fighting Food Waste in Los Angeles

When Rick Nahmias realized that fresh produce in his community was routinely being tossed out for minor bruising or browning, he knew something needed to be done to end the unnecessary waste. He founded Food Forward, a non-profit dedicated to ending hunger by sharing abundance. The organization recovers fresh produce that may otherwise go to waste, collecting from farmers markets, wholesale food suppliers, and even residential backyards. Within the past year, they’ve already fed 1.5 million people across Los Angeles.

This Mega Kitchen Serves 40,000 People Each Day

With one of the largest kitchens in Asia, the Shri Saibaba temple in Shirdi, India, prepares, cooks and serves quantities of food that are nearly unimaginable. The kitchen dishes out as many as 40,000 meals per day, every day, all year long. It takes 600 people working in two daily shifts to prepare all this food. Yet despite all the effort, meals are free to the public. Why? The temple believes that those who are hungry deserve to be fed, and those who are thirsty deserve to be given a drink.

Nigeria Replaces India as Home to Most in Extreme Poverty

Extreme poverty is increasingly common in Africa according to a Brookings Institution report.

A snapshot of what poverty means in Nigeria (Source: Daily Trust).

Imagine living on $1.90 or less a day, struggling even to access basic necessities. 767 million people in the world fit that description, according to a 2013 survey (the last comprehensive survey on global poverty): 1 in 10 people. The World Bank describes such people as “predominantly rural, young, [and] poorly educated.” For a long time India has been home to the most people living in extreme poverty. But Nigeria is now number one for most people in extreme poverty, according to Brookings Institution, a DC public policy nonprofit.

This change reflects a geographical shift in extreme poverty. Once extremely common in Asia, economic progress has helped to eliminate a significant proportion of extreme poor. The trend in Asia reflects worldwide trends since the 1990s that have seen rates of extreme poverty decrease by more than 60% according to the World Bank. Progress in India also reflects progress with the international Sustainable Development Goals, set in 2016, that seeks to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030. Since the goals were set in 2016, 83 million have escaped extreme poverty.

However, the progress in India has not been praised by everyone. Some wonder if the reported progress illustrates continued rural distress and worries about job creation in India. Another potential criticism is about what poverty means. For India, a middle-income country based on its per capita income, its poverty line is $3.20 or less per day according to the World Bank. This means poverty is less defined by living on the edge of hunger and more on having an income that can access opportunities of a growing economy, according to a financial editorial in Mint.

Meanwhile, extreme poverty has become the unwelcome status quo in Africa. This is most notable in statistics, calculated through the IMF’s World Economic Outlook and household surveys, provided by the World Poverty Clock. It states as six people enter extreme poverty per minute in Nigeria, 44 leave it in India. More generally, 87 million Nigerians (44% of the population) live in extreme poverty while 70.6 million (around 5% of the population) live in extreme poverty in India.

Further, Nigeria is only a part of the extreme poverty in Africa. Two-thirds of Africans live in a state of extreme poverty and 14 of the 18 countries that have rising numbers of extreme poor are located in Africa. Indeed, on track to be number two for extreme poor is the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The theme of poverty in Africa also depicts difficulties in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. When it was implemented in 2016, the pace required to eliminate poverty by 2030 was 1.5 people every second. However as countries have slowed down in eliminating poverty, the actual pace is remarkably less—by 2020 it could be 0.9 people per second. The difference in pace will make it difficult to eliminate poverty by 2030 if not impossible, especially as the required pace to get back on track for the goal is 1.6 people per second.

In spite of the difficulties, eliminating global poverty is a priority for many charitable organizations. One is The Borgen Project, a Seattle nonprofit who hopes to be “an influential ally” for the world’s poor by building “awareness of global issues and innovations in poverty reduction.”  The Borgen Project builds awareness by advocating for poverty-reducing legislation by meeting directly with members of Congress or staff. They also hold members of Congress accountable for blocking poverty-reducing legislation.

The Borgen Project’s success is especially evident in the passing of the 2017 Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act. The Act holds the US accountable for ensuring access to basic education in war-torn and developing countries. Basic education encourages economic growth by equipping people with skills needed to participate in the global marketplace— an important step to reducing poverty.

Another successful organization is international organization Oxfam, which hopes to create “lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social justice.” Oxfam strives to create such systemic change through social justice advocacy of legislation that reduces poverty; disaster response improvements; and public education about the causes of poverty. Oxfam also focuses on programs that educate individuals about their rights or address inequalities in resource accessibility— such as clean water initiatives.

These programs cultivate local partnerships and networks with a focus on “locally informed and locally driven solutions.” For example, after over ten years of working with local communities and government authorities to minimize the impact of disasters on poor people, El Salvador was able to swiftly respond to the October 2011 flood. More importantly, when a village (La Pelota) received unclean drinking water, they asserted their right to clean water by sending it back to the authorities.

Both organizations show work that has been directly done to eliminate poverty. Like other organizations that focus on global poverty, they strive to enforce systemic change by targeting root issues. These include a lack of education— of individuals about their rights as well as the general public, a lack of adequate resources, and a lack of legislation that addresses the poor. Whether it is by 2030 or later, it is possible to imagine a future where extreme poverty does not exist. Many individuals already do.

TERESA NOWALK is a student at the University of Virginia studying anthropology and history. In her free time she loves traveling, volunteering in the Charlottesville community, and listening to other people’s stories. She does not know where her studies will take her, but is certain writing will be a part of whatever the future has in store.

India’s Holiest City Tried ‘Pro-Poor’ Tourism

Anmol, 17, slips 500 rupees into his pocket as he swaggers down the stairs on bowed legs, after escorting American tourists to the pizzeria in Assi. Anmol reads faces to survive. If a tourist has a good face, he approaches, tests the waters in his broken English, and buys them a chai. “Trust is most important because tourists don’t trust you fast,” explains Anmol.

In Assi, a neighbourhood of bustling cafes and temples in Varanasi – India’s most holy city – most people depend on tourism to make a living: building up that trust allows them to eat. According to the Uttar Pradesh Department of Tourism in 2017, over 300,000 foreign and 5m domestic travellers visited Varanasi. During the peak tourist season between October and March, Anmol earns between 2,000 to 7,000 rupees as a guide (that’s £22 to £77). In the low season, he earns little or nothing.

“I also know how to do ceremony,” says Anmol, pulling out his smartphone to show shots of himself waving a lamp in front of a goddess. For a few hours, he helps his father, a priest, at a shrine, earning 50 rupees a day. Now, he has hatched another plan with advice from his Peruvian friend on Facebook – to learn how to play traditional tabla drums, so that he can make a little money teaching tourists keen on Indian culture. If all else fails, he will get a driver’s license.

Who benefits?

Like many others his age, Anmol is struggling to claw his way out of poverty. The average monthly income he cobbles together is just above the World Bank’s poverty line of US$1.90 a day. Anmol is trying to acquire valued skills, and he is not among the “abject poor”, nor accounted for in government statistics about poverty. Yet he remains vulnerable, at constant risk of slipping backwards.

When Anmol moved to Varanasi nine years ago from Bihar, his family circumstances were so strained that he had to choose between education and food. The locals have a cautionary saying about Biharis like him: “Ek bihari sau pe bari” – one Bihari is shrewder than hundred local people. Largely disdained by locals for corrupting their culture, most Bihari migrants in Assi work in the informal economy.

When I ask Anmol who benefits from economic development, he replies, “Everybody benefits, but especially the hotel-wallah, restaurant-wallah, boat-wallah”. Those who own prime real estate, or are directly tied to the tourist industry – such as the boatmen who ferry visitors to watch the sunrise – have gained the most. But there has been no systematic effort to document who benefits from tourism, and in what ways.

Pro-poor tourism

Across India, tourism accounts for nearly 10% of the GDP, and is the third largest foreign exchange earner. One advantage of the tourism industry is that it can absorb even unskilled workers. The UN World Tourism Organisation has long held that tourism can be a key agent in the fight against poverty. But some experts are more sceptical, arguing that tourism’s value is overstated: it creates menial, seasonal jobs and mainly benefits the skilled elite.

Inclusive “pro-poor” tourism, which creates employment for vulnerable residents is a priority in the government of Uttar Pradesh’s 2016 tourism policy and India’s 12th five-year plan. Yet there is a lack of clarity around what “pro-poor” tourism should actually achieve. For Avinash Mishra, joint director of Uttar Pradesh Tourism, it means building skills for those in the sector. For others, tourism is only “pro-poor” if it reduces absolute poverty or inequality.

The local government has not thoroughly mapped how much money from tourism goes to the poor in Varanasi, or other areas. Nor has it identified the bottlenecks preventing the poor from earning a greater share, which vary from one destination to another. A “value chain analysis” – which describes the full range of activities required to bring goods or services from conception to completion – could help the government decide whether to invest in skills development or marketing, strengthen local food supply chains or reform local laws.

Dreaming big

Research by the Overseas Development Institute, an international development think tank based in the UK, suggests that there are many ways to help spread benefits of tourism. In general, the poor do better when tourists spend on local products, rather than “big ticket” items such as accommodation and tour operators. They also benefit when tourist establishments buy supplies locally, and when they can get jobs where the wages are set relatively high. Enforcing a minimum wage can ensure the benefits are more widespread.

According to Mishra, in Varanasi nearly half of foreign tourists come through package tours, so much of the profit will never reach local communities. Foreigners travelling independently are more helpful to locals. It is hard to regulate private sector development, says Mishra, but government intervention comes with its own issues.

“Once the government comes in, there’s corruption. So we have the principle of the survival of the fittest,” he told me. A family of upper-caste priests, who own much of the local land, are well-equipped for competition. But young people such as Anmol must fend for themselves; if they survive, it’s because of their own ingenuity, resilience and risk-taking.

Many of the young men who came of age in the wake of India’s economic liberalisation now find that the opportunities and lifestyles represented on the internet and television linger just beyond their reach. They are often more educated than their parents, yet they lack the connections and money which could enable them to fulfil their aspirations.

Globalisation and tourism has opened up their imaginations to a world beyond Assi. One day Anmol hopes to go Australia. “I like Australia because the weather is good there. They also play cricket. I can survive there, but it will take a little time to adjust. I used to be scared when I first moved here too.”

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION