Week 14: Gender Equality and Economic Opportunity

In terms of where the world stands on gender equality in 2015, we have moved leaps and bounds from where women stood a century ago. However, there is still a very long way to go. According to the Blackboard text “Women, environment and sustainable development: making the links”, women are still oppressed in work, health, land rights and education to name a few. Also, women make up the majority of the world’s poor.

Logo for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Source: pen-international.org

Since the 1940’s, there have been a considerable amount of policies passed to protect women and encourage equality. In June of 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women was created to ensure women’s empowerment and promote discussion about women’s obstacles (see article here). 1975 marked the year that first United Nations Conference on Women was held in Mexico City, it “called upon governments to develop strategies that would bring gender equality, eliminate gender discrimination and integrate women in development and peace-building,” (source). In 2000, it was announced that goal number three of the Millennium Development Goals would be dedicated to promoting gender equality and empowering women (source). Although all of these efforts have led the world in the right direction, there still seems to be something missing – something more that can be done.

Image promoting gender equality. Source: caribank.org

Although the United Nations and other organizations have implemented policies promoting female empowerment, it is up to individual governments and cultures to promote change. According to globalissues.org, ” some places claims are made that women’s rights will be respected more, yet policies are sometimes not changed enough—or at all—thus still undermining the rights of women.”

In my opinion, I think it is important to focus efforts on women’s rights in impoverished nations. Although there is gender discrimination globally, developing nations should catch up to the rest of the world on the subject before we should push for change in places like the United States. Making small strides to stop clear human rights violations like female genital mutilations should be the utmost priority.  Besides FGM, this idea of arranged marriages between men and very, very young girls that subsequently leads to a lack of education, unemployment and perhaps household violence is something that needs to be addressed. In last weeks reading assignment, we read about Denise Dunning of Let Girls Lead. Just by making the small stride to persuade leaders of villages to outlaw marriage under 21 is a step in the right direction. Small movements like this can cause a domino effect and eventually catch the attention of governments that have the power to make it into law.

After spending a large part of this semester discussing poverty and how to end it, I’ve noticed that women play an incredibly integral role in any economy. I seems that for a nation to truly move out of poverty and toward sustainable economic growth, it truly cannot be done with women.

I don’t think this issue is specific to just developing nations, women in wealthy nations experience the same set backs – maybe just not as often or in such severe circumstances. Regardless of where it is in the world, women who are educated and employed will often quit their jobs or education once they get married and have children. Women who marry very young – something that is more common in less wealthy nations – will not even have access to an education because they become the primary care taker of that household at a very young age.

Political cartoon depicting gender equality. Source: politicalcartoons.com, Petar Pismestrovic, Kleine Zaitung, Austria.

According to the text provided on Blackboard, Women, Work, and the Economy, “There is ample evidence that when women are able to develop their full labor market potential, there can be significant macroeconomic gains.” Also, having a greater talent pool for employers to choose from creates competition which leads to economic growth implications.

Furthermore, Gallup conducted a study with around 800 business units in two different industries: retail and hospitality. The units in both industries showed that those with more gender diversity have better financial outcomes than those with less gender diversity – retail by 14% higher average revenue, and hospitality by 19% higher average quarterly net profit.

In my opinion, the bottom line is that women are a resource, just like men – and it would be foolish for a nation not to utilize all of its resources.

Week 13: Girl Power

It is no secret that women of all ages are oppressed all over the world, including Africa. Thankfully, governments, not-for-profits, and individuals are working to empower women and fight for social change.

In one example, Let Girls Lead is a movement started by Denise Dunning out of California that partners with organizations to help women in developing nations escape poverty and push toward helping them receive an education. In the article provided on blackboard, it states that Let Girls Lead is working hard toward allowing girls to stay in school by taking a stand against child marriage. The movement has proved successful by partnering with over 300 organizations and ” has contributed to improved health, education, and livelihoods for more than 3 million girls”.

Let Girls Lead logo. Source: huffingtonpost.com

For this assignment, I looked at the policies surrounding women and gender equality in Kenya. According to USAID, traditional gender roles keep women from having access to education and employment. If the status of women improved, the overall status of families and communities living in poverty would improve. Kenya passed a new Constitution in 2010 that proves a major step forward for women’s empowerment. Specifically, the Constitution required that “no more than two-thirds of elected or appointed public bodies consist of one gender.” However, it is difficult for women to excursive their new rights under oppressive family conditions. Luckily, USAID is working hard to provide these Kenyan women with safe environments that are free of violence and are encouraging them to embrace the Constitution. USAID also takes into account the important role that men and boys play in gender equality.

USAID logo. Source: usaid.gov

Another significant topic of concern in Kenya is gender-based violence. According to a statistic provided by USAID “about 45 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence. Many survivors have limited access to appropriate services.” USAID, partnered with the efforts of other organizations, has initiated preventing sexual violence by training police officers and offering crisis hotlines.

I applaud this approach because I think many times men are ignored in the quest for female empowerment. Men in a household play such an integral role in a household and I think it is impossible to truly achieve equality for women without also educating and including men as part of that plan. I also think that this Constitution is a tremendous step in the right direction for Kenya. Requiring women to hold positions in the government gives women a voice that they have never had before.

Michelle Obama supporting the #BringBackOurGirls effort. Source: mashable.com

In Nigeria, over 200 girls have been kidnapped by Islamic militant group Boko Haram. According to the article provided on Blackboard, the Nigerian government has made promises about bringing the girls back through negotiations with the extremist group; however, very little progress has been made. In a more recent article by BBC, it is reported that although there have been possible sightings, no girls have been found. “Boko Haram say the kidnapped girls have converted to Islam and been married off.” the article states. Clearly, all such negotiations done by the Nigerian government have fallen through. In fact, today, April 14th, 2015 marks one year since the girls have gone missing. Hundreds of people gathered in Nigeria’s capital city in remembrance of the girls, and protested against the government and Boko Haram. Nigerians believe that their government isn’t telling the whole story, and much of the blame points toward outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan.

I think the issue in Nigeria reflects much of what is happening in many SSA countries as far as there being a disconnect between human rights and politics. In my opinion, government corruption and political turmoil makes it impossible for a country to truly begin combatting human rights issues – especially women’s rights.

Week 12: MDG #3 and Micro-loans

Globally, women have been marginalized in the work force. This issue is not restricted to just the developing countries that we have talked about during this class, it is true for wealthy, developed nations as well. Even women in high paying positions (such as CEOs) statistically make less than men who hold identical positions. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), “Inequality of treatment marks virtually all aspects of women’s working lives, beginning with wages and employment opportunities and extending to access to decision-making and managerial positions.” The traditional mindset that men are meant to be the primary bread winners in a family is so deeply embedded into society that it has a tremendous effect on how women are treated in the work place. This oppressive mindset is heightened in less developed parts of the world. I am not sure that there is necessarily an obvious solution to the problem because changing the beliefs and cultural values of an entire society is not possible. However, in my opinion, the first step to making a positive contribution to this situation is spreading awareness.

Sad celebrations on International Women’s Day, by Victor Ndula, from Kenya.

For my final project I am focusing on the country of Sudan. According to an article on rescue.org, “Sudan’s civil war, now in its fourteenth year, has resulted in the largest internally displaced population the world has ever seen. Over four million people have been driven from their homes…” A majority of the displaced population has migrated to refugee camps that are rampant with poverty and unemployment. In these camps, women are the ones who fall upon the burden of taking on multiple roles to provide for their families – often resorting to prostitution. The International Rescue Committee has developed programs to combat gender inequality and focus on empowering the displaced female population living in these camps.

Gender inequality in job access, by Bernard Bouton, from France. 

The impact of micro-finance has two sides of the story – one arguing that the system has positively contributed to poverty reduction and female empowerment, the other saying it has done the opposite. In her essay, Conflicts Over Credit, Naila Kabeer explores both sides of the argument. She gives examples of negative critiques done by researchers over the years. One critique done by Goetz and Sen Gupta, stood out to me as particularly compelling. Goetz and Gupta conducted a study that brought to light that “the majority of women, particularly married women, exercised little or no control over their loans.” (Kabeer, p. 64). They go on to discuss how repayment and management of the loan often falls into the hands of a male family member. Often times, inability to repay or get access to a loan leads to household violence. The authors argue that enabling safe access to the marketplace for women is the correct way to enhance their control of loans and avoid any resistance to their presence in the market by men.

On the opposite end, Kabeer offers several positive perspectives as well. A study done by Rahman shows that “Women who made active use of at least some of their loans had higher consumption standards and were more likely to have a role in household decision-making, either on their own or jointly with their husbands.” (Kabeer, 65). Another study done by Hashemi, Schuler, and Riley shows that “access to credit appeared to be associated with an overall reduction of the incidence of violence against women.” (Kabeer, 65). Overall, I think micro-loans have more positive than negative effect. I think violence in a family household is more deep-rooted than just arguments about loan repayment. The loans allow for sustainable economic growth that is fueled by hard-working people, Although they may not be a huge stride toward empowering women, I think micro-loans are helping people get out of poverty on their own terms.

Microfinance by Damien Glez. Source: toonpool.com

I analyzed the country of Eritrea in past blogs. According to information collected by the Syngenta Foundation, the response to micro-finance in Eritrea is overwhelmingly positive. People who were interviewed stated that, “While micro-finance had not eliminated the root cause of the problem, e.g. the drought, it had given them the possibility to build up income alter- natives, such as a shop, and they were able to feed their children using the income it generated.” (Syngenta Foundation, info sheet linked above). Clients in Eritrea enjoyed easy access to loans, and the collateral system. They showed disapproval about interest rates, the size of loans, and repayment periods.

Week 11: Grameen Bank Model, and an Outside Look on Aid vs. No Aid

As featured on the Grameen Foundation’s website, Ghana and Uganda are two countries in SSA that have partnered with the bank. In Ghana’s case, the Grameen Foundation has set their efforts toward improving maternal and neonatal care. Through the Mobile Technology for Community Health (MTCH) initiative, women have access to two mobile applications that provide them with maternal health education. Through one application, mothers and/or their families and friends receive SMS and/or voice mails that provide them with up to date information on their pregnancies or childcare every week. The second application allows for nurses to centralize patient data to an online database that then helps them keep track of care for their patients.

In Uganda, the Grameen Foundation launched Village Phone in 2002. This mobile technology has since served as the basis for many mobile initiatives since its inception. One initiative, Community Knowledge Worker, launched in 2009, allows farmers in rural communities to connect with a network of peer advisors that help the farmers receive up to date information on how to protect their crops, and further their businesses.

Mobile technology plays a huge role in the Grameen Foundation’s efforts for change in Sub-Saharan Africa. The advancements in technology in the past decade have allowed for major initiatives in helping people living in poverty make substantial long-term improvements in their lives.

KIVA is an example of other micro-leding in Sub-Saharan Africa. The organization provides loans to people who live in rural communities and don’t have access to traditional banking systems. KIVA relies on donors, and 100 percent of the money donated to KIVA goes directly to funding the loan. Anyone is eligible to lend to KIVA through their website. KIVA lends money to people in over 80 countries around the world – not just SSA.

In Dead Aid, Moyo proposes a hypothetical situation in which all of Africa’s donors call each country one by one, and tell them that all aid will be cut off permanently in 5 years. Following this phone call, she discusses three interlinked stages that would help ensure that Africa gains a firm economic footing. According to the text, the first stage is an economic plan which will reduce a country’s reliance on aid year by air. The second stage is that in which a country enforces rules of prudence and does not live beyond its means. Finally, a country must strengthen its institutions.

Andrew Mwenda, Uganda journalist. Source: wbur.org

For this assignment, I watched Andrew Mwenda’s TED talk “Aid for Africa? No Thanks.” Mwenda discusses how the media focuses on only the negative aspects of Africa, creating a sense of pity and charity for African nations. In reality, although Africa has it’s weaknesses, it also has a lot of potential. He argues that Africa cannot receive wealth through means of charity, but rather through means of creating sustainable income. This seems to be a recurring theme in all the no aid arguments.

Herman Chinery-Hesse, Ghanian entrepreneur. Source: times.co.uk

Another video I watched features Herman Chinery-Hesse, a Ghanian entrepreneur who works to create jobs and build prosperity in his home country. The video, on povertycure.org, focuses on how foreign aid has, at times, hindered local businesses from growing. When NGO’s provide things for free, local businesses no longer are able to have a return on their product or service, and are forced to lay off workers. He goes on to state how many times that aid money is not allowed to be used to buy products from local businesses. On the website, Chinery-Hesse is quoted as saying, “I don’t know of any country in the world where a bunch of foreigners came and developed the country. I don’t know one: Japan? Korea? No! No country did that. I know about countries that developed on trade and innovation and business.”

After doing research on the topic of aid vs. no aid, there seemed to be an overwhelming amount of articles and texts online that leaned toward the no aid side of the argument. One such article, published by the Spectator, talks in depth about the downfalls of foreign aid to Africa and touches on many similar points that Moyo makes in her book. While doing more research, i stumbled upon an interesting article written as an opinion piece for the Brookings Institution explores China’s role in Africa – another major focal point of Moyo’s argument. A staggering statistic given by the Brookings article states, “Chinese investment in Africa grew from USD 210 million in 2000 to 3.17 billion in 2011.” Again, the article argued the value of more aid given to Africa leaning more toward the opinions of Moyo over Sachs.

By week 11, it seems to me that a vast majority of voices agree that more aid to Africa is not the answer to ending poverty. However, these voices are overshadowed by the power of large financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. I’m not sure that there is necessarily an answer to this issue, but as long as the World Bank and IMF have all the power it seems that not much is subject to change.

Week 9: A Closer Look at Moyo and Sachs

In Chapter 15 of The End of Poverty, author Jeffrey Sachs discusses the ability of the rich world to help end extreme poverty. He argues, “the cost now is likely to be small compared to any relevant measure… the task can be achieved within the limits that the rich world has already committed: 0.7 percent of the gross national product of the high-income world.” (Sachs, p. 288). Sachs is targeting the richest people in the richest nations. He suggests the top four hundred richest taxpayers, or the top 0.1 precent of taxpayers (around one-hundred thousand).

Although I agree that Sachs has impressive figures to prove that taxing the rich would surely help eradicate extreme poverty, I believe this is an unrealistic proposal. If the rich in question were interested in donating their money to eradicating poverty, they would already do so (similar to Bill Gates). Having a mandatory tax toward aid is something that I believe would never go past a proposal. The wealthiest people in America have donate a lot of money toward election campaigns, and I don’t believe they would ever back a candidate running with this sort of foreign aid policy. As i have stated before, when looking at Moyo vs. Sachs, I gravitate toward Moyo. My suggestion would be that more aid is not the simple solution to fixing Africa.

In my opinion, I do not think that Sach’s suggestion to tax the rich is sustainable. This suggestion is reliant on the fact that the rich will make consistent income over years and decades – which I don’t think is necessarily a realistic assumption. Sachs gives a confusing explanation as to the sustainability of this kind of aid – and he addresses that it is tricky to determine.

Uganda on a map of Africa. Source: infoplease.com

For this assignment, I looked at Sach’s chart for Uganda on page 297. The three things that seem to require the highest percentages of the total aid budget for Uganda are health, roads, and education. Health and roads take up a vast majority of the budget, with health at 34.2 percent and roads at 21.3%. A little further behind are energy at 4.8 percent and hunger at 4.2%.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website, extreme poverty has been halved from 1999 to 2010. Although this progress has been made, the FAO recognizes that this progress is uneven and eradicating poverty needs to be a core goal of post-2015 development goals. Globally, extreme poverty has been halved; however, countries in Sub Saharan Africa have had the slowest progress rates.

On the World Bank’s website, I looked at various charts comparing poverty levels over the past decades in Sub Saharan Africa. Most of the countries did not have up-to-date statistics, with 2011 being the most recent survey year. I look at Rwanda in particular – the country’s overall poverty rate had fallen from 56.7 percent in 2006 to 44.9 percent in 2011.

Jeffrey Sachs, economist and author of Dead Aid. Source: idml.co.uk

I agree with Sachs that these myths exist, and I think this is a topic that we have touched upon with other readings in this class. I also find it interesting that many of these myths are addressed by Dambisa Moyo in Dead Aid. Sachs goes into depth discussing corruption and aid as a myth, while Moyo cites it as a reality – how often the two have opposing views is entertaining to me as a reader. Overall, I think Sachs makes compelling arguments to address these myths and offers valuable data and evidence to back them up. It got me thinking that perhaps Moyo did not go into depth enough when addressing similar issues.

In my opinion, I think to think globally means to look past the realm of the bubble that we, in rich nations, live in. This can be applied to the myth that Sachs discusses as “a rising tide lifts all boats”. It’s easy to say that economic development will simply decrease poverty. Although this may be true for Western nations, the impoverished nations in question are not structured the same way. Economic development does not reach rural tribal communities the same way it does urban landscapes or suburban establishments that we are familiar with.

Moyo does have some objections of China’s presence in Africa, recognizing that their reputation with human rights and governance is less than favorable. She addresses this by stating that China’s involvement in Africa is viewed favorably (and more favorably than of the U.S) in almost all survey data from African nations. In my opinion, this sort of “no strings attached” approach by China is a human rights violation in and of itself. The issues in Africa, particularly those surrounding corruption and genocide, are not to be ignored. It’s unclear to me how a country can advance without attention being paid to human rights violations and bad governance.

Week 8: Poverty Reduction Strategies, Foreign Direct Investment, or a Capital Solution

In chapter 14 of Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty, he discusses the idea of a poverty reduction strategy (PRS). According to the text, almost every poor African nation has some sort of PRS that has been developed in cooperation with the IMF and World Bank. Unfortunately, these plans have not been designed with enough ambition that would allow these countries to come close to achieving the MDGs. In an attempt to allocated funds toward these poverty reduction strategies, countries often have to cut funding to other areas of public investment (often public health).

Political cartoon depicting poverty reduction strategy papers. Source: hakikazi.org

Sachs gives examples of several recent noteworthy poverty reduction strategies. For this assignment, I looked at Uganda’s Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) and Ghana’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) – both available to the public on the IMF’s official website.

From the beginning of the write-up, the GPRS states the four main pillars that set a framework for what the plan sets to accomplish. The pillars are:

• Creating a framework for economic growth and transformation
• ensuring good governance and security
• Directly increasing the ability of the poor to raise their incomes
• Directly increasing the quality of the life of the poor

It stood out to me that the write-up established clear-cut goals from the very beginning and made it apparent that it gets revised every several years to maintain with progress. The document itself is very long but it features charts and outlines important figures and statements with bullet points.

Ghana’s coat of arms, which is featured at the beginning of the GPRS. Source: brandsoftheworld.com

When looking at the PEAP, it stood out to me that there was a disclaimer at the very beginning stating that this plan did not necessarily reflect the views of the government of Ghana or the Executive Board of the IMF. I understand the legal necessity for this sort of disclaimer, but it seemed sort of odd that the IMF was not 100% behind the staff team that they appointed to write up this plan. Besides this, it is very similar to the PRS of Ghana.

In Dead Aid, author Dambisa Moyo argues that poor African countries can look toward a capital solution for their problems – specifically, the use of bonds. For this assignment, I looked at the financial strategy of Sub-Saharan Africa. I was unable to find any exact data from J.P. Morgan EMBI league table (website simply said “no data”), but I did find some information on credit rankings from the U.S. Department of State. The department’s website states, “Private investment, as a source of both capital and know-how, is absolutely essential for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to grow and develop.”

On the World Bank website, I was able to find out that for my assigned country, Eritrea, there are 13 total loans that are currently in the process of being repayed – none of which have been fully repaid yet. While Eritrea is a very small country, I noticed that larger countries in Africa had many more loans. For example, according to the World Bank, Kenya has 32 total loans that are disbursing, 109 loans that are in the process of being repaid, and 56 loans that are fully repaid.

Moyo argues that in order for countries to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), they need to first understand the importance of FDI. In the text, Moyo states that FDI will “create more jobs, assist in the transfer of new technology, help stimulate the formation of capital markets, improve management expertise, and aid indigenous firms to open up to international markets.” (Moyo, p. 101-102). If Africa embraces FDI and satisfies investors, they will be happy to introduce other forms of capital such as bank lending and venture capital.  Countries need to make an effort to “woo investors” so that they have somewhere to go if and when countries default on their loans. Moyo suggests attractive tax structures as a tool to grab investor’s attention.

According to an article posted on EY.com, FDI flows to Sub-Saharan Africa have reached the highest levels in a decade – this is a more current evaluation since Moyo wrote about FDI flows in 2009. In the case of Eritrea, I think major obstacles for investors are the government, and border conflicts with neighboring countries.

Week 7: Dambisa Moyo and Dead Aid

In her book Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo offers four alternatives for funding for African economies. The four alternatives are: a capital solution, an increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), supporting trade, and micro-finance. Moyo does a good job of explaining why her alternatives would help Africa while also offering common arguments that are made against them and addressing those with a counter argument. I think Moyo has evidently done her research and provides evidence to support her claims. The two alternatives that I found most valuable and compelling were the capital solution and the FDI alternative.

In the case of a capital solution, Moyo discusses the benefits African nations would receive from bonds. Bonds would allow nations to earn credibility by paying back the money. In the case of default, Moyo states that the debt markets are forgiving and investors have a short memory.

When discussing FDI, Moyo explains that labor costs are low in Africa and investable opportunities are very high. She goes on to describe what China has done for Africa through FDI. She also addresses that Africa indeed does have a bad reputation, is a “nightmare” for doing business, and that consequently scares investors away. However, the benefits from FDI outweigh the drawbacks. FDI can create more jobs, assist in the transfer of new technology, help stimulate capital markets, improve management expertise, and aid indigenous firms to open up to international markets.

Dambisa Moyo, author of “Dead Aid”.

Moyo refers to aid as a “vicious cycle”, making the claim that aid helps foster corruption. Aid money allows these corrupt governments access to freely usable cash to support them, leading to reduced economic growth and a cycle of dependency. Corrupt officials are likely to allocate aid funding toward diverted funds or extorted bribes. Prior to reading this, I had always considered aid as something that was strictly monitored and controlled by the donor to ensure that it was being allocated correctly. I was shocked to read that “of the US $525 billion that the World Bank has lent to developing countries since 1946, at least 25 per cent (US $130 billion) has been misused.” (Moyo, p. 52).

Political cartoon depicting the Washington Consensus. Source: Internation Political Economy Zone.

Prior to this blog assignment, I had never heard of the Washington Consensus. According to the Center for International Development at Harvard University, the term was originally coined by John Williamson in 1990 and refers to a set of ten principles that should serve as the standard for reform in developing countries. It seems that in any recent articles or texts, the public sentiment toward the Washington Consensus has been overwhelmingly negative.

Moyo is alluding to the nature of hypocrisy when the high profile individuals who are pushing for aid are those who have never truly seen and/or experienced the effects of poverty in the nations for which they are campaigning. The opinions of African policymakers – those that are living the reality of their country’s situation – are rarely publicly displayed because they are over-shadowed by the power of celebrity. In his remark, Kagame is talking about how most of the aid donated since 1970 has gone toward sustaining the interests of the United States rather than truly helping development in Africa.

Moyo offers many examples that have been given for why African countries are not up to par with the rest of the world’s developing nations. One reason she states is geographic: Africa is abundant with resources; however, nations have been unable to capitalize on these resources or have simply made poor decisions in investments and have squandered much of their natural wealth. Furthermore, many nations in Africa are landlocked – which is cause for low growth. Although environment does play a role, Moyo argues that nations such as Saudi Arabia and Switzerland are landlocked and have diverse weather conditions yet do not face the same challenges African nations do – so there has to be more to the story.

Another reason she mentions is colonialism. Colonialism forced different groupings and/or tribes of indigenous peoples to interact under the same nation that was built by simply drawing borders on a map – this included rival and warring groups and subsequently would lead to long-lasting conflict.

Moyo argues that it is clear that no single factor is responsible for the long-term failure of Africa, it is certainly a variety of factors combined that are unique and individual to each nation. She finishes off the summary of these various factors that the one thing each nation has in common is aid. In my opinion, her argument is not only clear but eye-opening.

Dambisa Moyo’s best-selling novel. Source: chris-beckett.com

Moyo’s solution is simple: a world without aid. As I stated before, Moyo gives four big alternatives to aid that she believes would sustain lasting prosperity to Africa. For the nations that I have been analyzing, I believe her solutions would be promising. Corruption runs rampant in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Eritrea. According to Transparency International, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of the Democratic Republic of Congo is 22/100 (the closer to zero, the more corrupt). The CPI of Eritrea is 18/100 which indicates it is slightly more corrupt than the Democratic Republic of Congo. In my opinion, it is this kind of corruption that Moyo is referencing as being responsible for misallocation of aid funding. I think that realistically, for the Democratic Republic of Congo some sort of resolution of conflict needs to come into play before any more massive amounts of aid can ensure progress. Going back to week 1 of this class, there is more value if the attention of first world countries is directed toward helping the citizens of Africa create their own prosperity rather than throwing money at corrupt governments and expecting a good outcome.

As far as Moyo vs. Sachs goes, I gravitate toward Moyo’s thoughts on aid simply because her arguments just made more sense to me, personally. Sachs points seemed very calculated and methodical while Moyo addressed her beliefs in a simplistic way. Although I understand that prosperity on a continent is something that is very long-term, it is hard to believe how little progress has been made in the past 50 years yet how much aid has been donated.

Week 6: Foreign Aid and Oxfam’s Post-2015 Development Goals

According to the official Inter-Agency Standing Committee website, a Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) is a program implemented to help aid organizations plan, coordinate, implement and supervise their response to disasters, in consultation with foreign governments. The latest record of a CAP in Eritrea was implemented in the year 2005. As stated on the official website of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this CHAP was in collaboration with the United Nations and the government of Eritrea for more than 100 million dollars in aid mainly focused on combatting malnutrition. The latest record of a CAP on the UN’s website for the Democratic Republic of Congo is the year 2014, and there appears to be listings for a CAP every year since 2005.

The technical definition of Gross National Income is the nation’s gross domestic prodcuct (GDP) plus net income received from overseas. According to the World Bank, the GNI of Eritea is 7.504 billion dollars (2013), while the GNI of the Democratic Republic of Congo is 49.94 billion dollars (2013).

When Oxfam calls for developed countries to meet financial commitments for 0.7% of GNI as ODA, it means that those countries should donate 0.7% of their Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA flows to countries on a designated list that need aid and assistance.

According to the United Nation’s official website, on a global scale, ODA falls short by nearly $180 billion dollars. In data collected by the World Bank, net ODA has steadily declined since 2003 for the country of Eritrea. ODA falls extremely short in terms of aid to this small nation. The Democratic Republic of Congo has received $17.6 billion dollars in aid between 2003 and 2012, making it the 10th largest recipient. In a statistic given by globalhumanitarianassistance.org, the Democratic Republic of Congo received 15% of its GNI as ODA in 2012.

The United States spent $30.55 billion dollars, which equals to 0.19% of our GNI. This money is given away for means of national security, economic interest of the United States, and because it upholds the values of our nation. It is believed by majority of Americans that developed nations have a moral responsibility to provide aid to nations in poverty. In 2012, the United States gave the Democratic Republic of Congo nearly 400 million dollars in aid – most of which was designated for economic support according to findthebest.com. I was not able to find any information on the amount of foreign aid received from the United States by Eritrea, with the exception of one website which gave a negative figure implying that Eritrea received no aid from the U.S.

The Millenium Development Goals, and the policies implemented by developed nations in order to achieve them, must follow Policy Coherence for Development (PCD). Countries need to ensure that their own individual aid policies do not undermine internationally-agreed development goals (namely, the MDGs).

Week 5: “Cheetahs” and Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Following last week’s assignment of reading about the emerging cheetah generation in Africa, it is our assignment this week to find an example of a “cheetah” in our assigned countries. I was surprised to find that finding a “cheetah” was easier than I thought it would, this made me realize how prevalent this new generation of people truly is – it’s not something that is obscure an only found in textbooks.

Rose Mapendo. Copyright University of Southern California

Rose Mapendo is a Rwandan genocide survivor who spent 16 months in a death camp after the Democratic Republic of Congo was invaded by the Rwandan Tutsi Army. After being rescued by a US government program for refugees and re-located to the United States, Mapendo has become an advocate for peace and help for refugees in Africa. Now, Mapendo permanently resides in the United States and is the founder of the non-profit organization Mapendo New Horizons. The organization seeks to  help those whose lives have been destroyed by war and violence and who have been overlooked by existing humanitarian aid. According to a press release by Mapendo New Horizons, Rose was honored by the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees as “Humanitarian of the Year” in 2009.

Meron Estefanos.

Meron Estefanos is an Swedish/Eritrean radio host and human rights activist. According to an interview on ravishly.com, Estefanos was raised in Sweden and knew nothing of the tragedies plaguing her Eritrean homeland until she returned later in life. Estefanos calls the Eritrea “one of the most oppressive regimes in the world”, where men and women are forced into national service from age 17 to 50. Eritrean refugees connect with Estefanos through her radio show “Voices of Eritrean Refugees”. In her interview, Estefanos states that “I am broadcasting my program to refugees who have hardship. I try to tell them that leaving your country is not the solution to whatever problem you have…I think Eritreans need to stand up and fight the root cause.” She is just one of many examples of Africa’s “cheetahs” that are pushing for change from the oppression of Africa’s past.

Throughout this course, we have looked at different articles, reports and other texts offering many different perspectives on what exactly is the keeping countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in poverty. Besides just the assigned readings, I’ve read numerous other articles and reports based off of the readings we did in class. Overall, I’ve concluded that each nation faces a different combination of the same types of obstacles. I’ve touched on such obstacles in past blogs but, in my opinion, the main ones are: poverty as a trap itself, government corruption, geopolitics, and economic policy. I believe, especially, it is extremely difficult for SSA countries to escape poverty because of the oppressive governments and rebel groups that are present in that part of the world right now.

Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea.

According to FreedomHouse.org, Eritrea has yet to establish a true democracy. The website states that, “No timetable has ever been drafted and adopted concerning implementing legislation and statutes regarding political parties and elections.” As I mentioned before when discussing Eritrean “cheetah” Meron Estefanos, the government of Eritrea is involved in nearly all aspects of civil life. Citizens have very limited rights when it comes to selecting their own citizenship. In summation, the government of Eritrea is far from a functioning democracy.

Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the same Freedom House website, the Democratic Republic of Congo has made the transition from a dictatorship to a corrupted democracy. Civil liberties are are extremely oppressed, ranking a 1.85 on the website’s scale out of 7. Elections are plagued by procedural flaws, and the government is constantly challenged by rebel groups. Similar to Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a long ways away from a functioning democracy.

Works Cited

Q&A: Rose Mapendo draws on her traumatic life to help others. (2009, January 23). Retrieved February 16, 2015.

Week 4: Radelet and Sachs’ Viewpoints on Africa and Poverty

In Steven Radelet’s Emerging Africa – How 17 Countries are Leading the Way he directly references this idea of the “cheetah” and “hippo” generations. According to the text, the hippo generation is compiled of those in Africa who are slow moving and stuck in the past. This generation is constantly referencing Africa’s past of colonialism, imperialism and the slave trade. Africa’s post-colonialist nationalist leaders – some who are even still in power – are included in this grouping. On the other end of the spectrum, Radelet discusses the emerging cheetah generation that proves to be very opposite of the hippos. The cheetah generation consists of new leaders and entrepreneurs who are seeking to redefine Africa through democracy, transparency and good governance.

The cheetah generation is paving the way for a new forward-thinking ideology in Africa, and straying away from slow moving the hippo generation. These terms represent the two new philosophies that are present in Africa. The cheetah generation is re-defining Africa through a movement that is blind to age, gender, education or location. These emerging leaders are eager to spread democracy and move Africa away from the old ways of doing things.

The cheetah, a representation of the fast-paced movement of new leaders and entrepreneuers out of Africa. Courtesy of National Geographic.

According to an article on the United Nations Non-Governmental Liason Service’s website, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a key role in the cheetah generation. NGOs promote democracy because they allow a balance between the government and the people. Furthermore, these organizations allow self-sufficient citizens to take the initiative and put their own skills and ambitions behind a goal that serves the continent.

Along with NGOs, women also play a major role in this emerging generation. For example, Radelet references Dr. Agnes Binagwaho – a doctor who studied abroad in Europe and returned to Africa to face the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As permanent secretary for the Ministry of Health, Binagwaho has helped bring the HIV/AIDs adult prevalence rate in Rwanda down three percent over the course of 14 years. She is just one example of the types of women that are helping change gender biases in Africa.

Jeffrey Sachs discusses a variety of factors that plague developing countries and keep them from thriving. In The End of Poverty, Sachs mentions poverty itself as a trap, physical geography of a nation, the fiscal trap, governance failures, cultural barriers, geopolitics, demographics and lack of innovation as just some identifiable problems. He discusses the imbalance between some poor countries that experience growth, while others fall flat. Among poor nations, those who have increased food productivity have statistically been able to experience economic growth. When looking at the countries in Africa and Asia, food productivity is the main thing that sets the Asian countries apart. Geographically, Sachs explains that the Asian continent is densely populated and is connected by an extensive road network that allows for input/output between farms and markets – something Africa is greatly lacking. Furthermore, the lack of innovation in developing nations is crippling. In the text, Sachs explains that even if an inventor had an idea to help his/her local economy, finding the money to fund research and development is almost unheard of. Overall, Sachs argues that poverty itself is the greatest trap that nations fall into that keeps them from economic and global development.

Sachs proposes that it is necessary to do a thorough differential diagnosis, followed by an appropriate treatment regiment (Sachs, p. 83). His checklist is a series of seven large categories with sub-categories that fall beneath them. The seven large categories are: Poverty Trap, Economic Policy Framework, Fiscal Framework/Fiscal Trap, Physical Geography, Governance Patterns and Failures, Cultural Barriers, and Geopolitics.

Flag of Eritrea.

In the case of Eritrea, I think it would be most beneficial to look at the poverty trap, physical geography, and economic policy framework. In terms of development, Eritrea is significantly behind the rest of Africa – nearly 70% of the population is living in poverty (World Bank). According to the African Development Bank’s website, economic growth is estimated to have fallen to 1.1% in 2013 from 7% in the previous year. Eritrea has faced restrictive economic policies, political isolation and is currently not well-integrated into global value chains (AFDB). As far as physical geography, Eritrea is in an area of Africa that is exposed to variable climate conditions. These conditions make it difficult for sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, according to the UN, Eritrea is one of four nations that is completely on track with the MDG focused on maternal health. The government of Eritrea, partnered with various organizations, has allowed for a reduction in the nations maternal mortality rate. According to another UN report, Eritrea is on track with many of the health-related MDGs. As of 2013, the country reached MDG 4 (reduction of child mortality.

In the case of Zaire, otherwise known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is most beneficial to look at the poverty trap, governance patterns/failures, and geopolitics items from Sachs’ checklist. According to BBC news, the country has been notoriously plagued by conflict. The war between government forces and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dubbed “Africa’s world war” and has left the resource-rich country in a crippling humanitarian disaster. According to the World Bank, 71.3% of the population is currently living in poverty.