Children Tell It Like It Is

These young advocates connect the dots between our investments in US global leadership and job creation at home providing compelling explanations of the benefits of investing in development and diplomacy programs.  It's their futures, why shouldn't they care? 

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: U.S. Global Leadership Coalition

Global Demand for Secondary Education Spikes

With global demand for secondary education on the rise, governments in places like sub-saharan Africa are struggling to supply the high demands due to the unavailability of the necessary resources.  The need for secondary education is essential for the growth and development of these countries in areas concerning (but not limited to) environmental security, child and maternal health, and HIV prevention.  These are their formidable years, they shouldn't be deprived of the opportunity to learn and better their understanding of the world around them.  These children are very valuable resources worth utilizing.  

The importance also lies at the societal and economic level.  According to Albert Motivans, Head of Education Indicators and Data Analysis at the Montreal based Institute, " Secondary education helps support a more skilled workforce.  This can lead to poverty reduction and economic growth goals.  It helps to support a population which is healthier and which participates more actively in society.  And thus, secondary education also acts as a kind of a bridge at the society level, from one level of development to the next."  Providing higher education for these youths promises hope of a brighter future not only for themselves but also for their nations.   

Here are some statistics to think about:

• In sub-saharan Africa, only 36 percent of children are enrolled in secondary education, more than 21.6 million children get turned away, and many will never have been in school
• Globally, approx. 100 million more students each decade are accommodated - total number has grown 60 percent between (1990 and 2009)
• The ratio of enrollment amongst gender shows that there is a higher percentage of male acceptance, however, the percentage of female enrollment is increasing
• Girls are more likely than boys to complete lower secondary education in three quarters of countries with available data

"Secondary education is the next great challenge." 

-Hendrik van der Pol, Director of UNESCO's Institute for Statistics  

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: UN News

Global Poverty Rate is Dropping

The global poverty rate is falling. An annual progress report shows that the Millennium Development Goals are on track to lower poverty rates despite the recent economic set backs.

The poverty rate is expected to fall by 15% by 2015. This is a significant achievement as it is well below the 23% target that was set.

And interestingly, it is not the developed countries that are making the difference. The world remains on track due to the momentum of growth in the developing world. In fact, the number of people in developing countries that live in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 a day) is estimated to fall below 900 million due to the growth of developing countries in the last decades.

East Asia has the record for the greatest reduction in poverty, especially China and India. In both countries the number of people living in poverty fell by 455 million between 1990 and 2005.

Despite these significant reductions in poverty, world hunger remains an issue, which is another target of the Millennium Development Goals. Access to food and high food prices has proved to be a problem for policy makers.

"We have success stories," stated Bank Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, "but achieving all the MDGs will require extra effort." Progress is not universal and the benefits are not evenly shared.

According to Ban Ki-moon, achieving the MDGs will require equitable and inclusive economic growth that reaches everyone. "World leaders must show no only that they care, but that they have the courage and conviction to act."

-Gabrielle Gurian

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

The Hall of Shame

Yearly collaboration between Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace results in the creation of a list containing the countries that have the worst reputation for the treatment of their citizens. The results for 2011 have recently been posted with the top five being Somalia, Chad, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti. The top ten also includes Iraq and Afghanistan.

The results are based on the Failed States Index that ranks countries from critical to most stable. The more points a country receives, the higher toward the red it goes. Various factors are taken into account such as demographic pressures, number of refugees, human flight, uneven development, economic decline, lack of public services, delegitimization of state, the number of human rights violations, and level of security. However, the statistical evidence can only hint at the bleak picture that people in critical counties face. Numbers cannot adequately explain the devastation, the fear, the corruption, the lack of basic human needs that are rampant in certain areas of the world.

Foreign Policy chose seven members of the Hall of Shame to exemplify and censure. For example, in Niger, the population on average goes to school for only 4.3 years. The country is afflicted by having the second-lowest literacy rates in the world. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the unfortunate reputation of being "the rape capitol of the world." And, in Afghanistan, corruption provides the framework of economic life where bribes are as commonplace as cashing a check at a bank.

For an interactive graphic of the world according to the Failed States index, click here.

In the meantime, the fact that these countries are being recognized for their maltreatment of their citizens', alerts others in more stable countries that there are issues that can be addressed and improved upon. And perhaps, by next year, some of those countries will be pulled out of the red.

-Chelsey Dambro

Source: Foreign Policy