Resources: Useful Methods to End Poverty

This week, I chose to further explore the internet for more resources relevant to poverty. I used the Webby Awards judging criteria to choose websites I felt were useful as well as the IMSA criteria in my assessment of blogs. As I researched, I found websites with bountiful information relevant to the field of poverty analysis. Global Issues is a website that provides information on issues ranging from human rights to food and agriculture with an overview of each and links to current news. With so much information, it is difficult to navigate but is filled with useful content and strong functionality. The University of Wisconsin's Institute for Research on Poverty is an excellent website for information surrounding poverty in the US. Although its visual design is outdated, its scholarly content is strong and reliable. The International Monetary Fund provides statistics relating to GDP, funds, etc. on virtually any country in the world. It is well organized, making it easy to navigate and search but lacks interactivity like blogs or personal stories. The One Campaign to make poverty history is a useful and up to date website on student and country involvement in the battle against poverty. It has powerful visual design as well as informative content, stimulating photos, and interactive blogs. Poverty.com is also up to date on an hourly hunger death statistic effect it provides. Although its content is rather brief, it gives overviews on leading poverty issues as well as a useful statistics chart on international aid.

Since the majority of these websites lack interactivity, I looked to blogs using the IMSA criteria. Environmental issues can very much relate to poverty, so I found an informative blog called Globally Minded. It is regularly updated with useful posts, videos, and images surrounding the environment and eco-friendly ways of living. The International Medical Corps (IMC), one of its photos to the left, has a website dedicated to blogs to share experiences of its members working on the field. It is not regularly updated but provides powerful stories, encounters, and images by those interacting with poverty-stricken families daily. NGOs like IMC are those we depend on to fight poverty, so I chose to look at NGO Security blog that gives a different perspective of poverty by analyzing NGOs. Although its posts are brief, it is regularly updated and has been an archive of information on NGOs for three years. The Poverty Law Prof Blog also gives a different perspective, which is that of lawyers working on issues surrounding poverty. Although they are primarily domestic issues, it is relevant to understand how the law applies to them. It is regularly updated, interactive, and informative on the lawyers participating in the blog. Finally, The Face of Hunger is a blog by Ray Buchanan, the founder of Stop Hunger now. It provides his personal views and ideas surrounding current issues and his religious inspirations in why people should work to battle them. Buchanan provides relevant links, and moving photos, poetry, and prayers that apply to the battle against poverty. Overall, I was quite successful in my search for informative websites and interactive blogs to further my research on poverty.

International Women's Day: Poverty Eradication a Priority

International Women's Day was celebrated worldwide on March 8. Parades, festivals, and exhibitions marked the pride and commemoration of women's daily contributions. While joy encompassed the majority of this day, it reminded the world of the unfortunate situation women are still in. Women represent 70% of the world's poor people. In order to reduce this number, women's issues, specifically gender inequality, must be more seriously addressed. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals stresses this in one of its eight points claiming that in order to end poverty by 2015, countries must, "eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015." In light of International Women's Day, the Millennium Campaign publicized this goal to bring awareness to the poverty-stricken situation many women are in today (their image below). It serves as a reminder not only to commemorate contributions by women but also to address the inequality that keeps them from advancing out of poverty.

In most third world countries, women are far behind in economic development. Women in some Middle Eastern countries comprise of merely 18.3% of the total paid employment. Promoting equal employment has yet to be fully implemented by governments. Many women rely on micro-credit loans from international organizations because their governments cannot provide them with jobs. The UN Secretary General stated this is because governments lack a "political will" with insufficient budgets allocated to women. Vedior, an international staffing service, claims that women are "more likely than men to be employed in low-productivity, low-paid, and vulnerable jobs, with little protection or rights." While governments focus on increasing employment rates, they must include gender specific policies to ensure that women on the poverty line have an opportunity to beneficial and sustainable employment. Governments also fail to recognize that women with equal employment opportunities can have dramatically positive effects on that nation's economy. Although the United States is still behind in equal employment wages for women, a large majority of women are employed, which is a huge factor in the United State's economic improvements over the last decade. Employment is not the only obstacle for women living in poverty. They face domestic violence, lack of clean water, and the spread of AIDS.

International organizations have played a significant role in assisting with women's development. UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) offers finances to programs focused on women's empowerment and equality worldwide. Amnesty International has a goal to end violence against women while promoting gender equality. On International Women's Day, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) promoted the importance of maternal health worldwide. They stated that better access to maternal health can reduce up to half a million deaths related to pregnancy each year. Because so many women live in poverty, access to affordable medical treatment is not an option for them. Women for Women International assists female survivors of war torn countries, providing them with economic sustainability. Although these organizational contributions have had an impact on women's progress, poverty has overall continued to rise.

The correlation between women's development and poverty is a vital connection governments fail to address. By addressing overall poverty without a major focus on women's development, poverty cannot be alleviated. Women comprise over half the world's population and are the primary caretakers for families, specifically children. Therefore, without a focus on the situation of women, children are therefore neglected as well. Young girls must also be a vital focus of governments in their poverty policies. Girls are often disadvantaged in education. In many developing countries, the ratio of girls enrolled in school to boys ranges from 46-79 girls to 100 boys. An example is Benin, whose ratio of girls enrolled in secondary school to boys is 46 to 100. These low numbers are the root to the unfortunate situation women are in today. Without any education, it is virtually impossible for any woman to rise economically and live an independently comfortable life. In order for women's poverty to begin a steady decline, girls education must begin a dramatic incline.

Women marched the streets, performed, sang, danced, and spoke to mark their presence in this world (see left). They demanded to be heard and seen, understood and appreciated. It is time for governments to respond. There is so much international organizations like the UN and Amnesty International can do in raising awareness, but governments are the sole implementers in being able to improve women's situations worldwide. Policies to focus on equal employment rates and opportunities, cracking down on domestic violence, ensuring education and health care are feasible through a reorganization of government funding in new gender specific programs. In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals, women's issues must be addressed seriously to alleviate poverty worldwide. Through addressing these goals, child mortality will decrease as well as the increase in orphans. The spread of AIDS can slow down, and economies can rise with a new educated working class of women. International Women's Day must not be a once-a-year reminder to women's situations but solely a celebration of progress in the advancement of women worldwide. With a more serious effort by governments in focusing on women's progress, this can be achieved.

Poverty: A Well Rounded Overview

This week, I decided to explore the Web for superlative resources in the area of poverty. I came across some very useful websites that I have provided in my linkroll that cover most bases of global poverty analysis. The first arena that I explored was the health aspect of poverty. The well-known World Health Organization's website is up to date on health-related breaking news, publications, statistics, and programs in poverty-stricken countries. The website is well organized, easy to navigate, and full of interesting images. I also stumbled across a section of Time Magazine completely dedicated to providing footage and information on AIDS in Africa. It provides remarkable stories on the struggles of AIDS and heartbreaking photographs that truly translate the crisis that AIDS is causing. While the website lacks interactivity, it is inspirational, very user friendly, and useful in information. Next, I decided to search for resources on development in countries struggling with poverty. The Center for Global Development provides a blog section in its website that a group of colleagues put together to share ideas on how to alleviate global poverty through development ideas and strategies. While the group blog lacks some visual details, it is well organized, straight-forward, and interactive. A similar blog that I came across was the Ideas for Development blog, which is composed by seven professionals in the field discussing and debating the future of development. It is open to students, teachers, and anyone who is willing to constructively participate to formulate new and interesting ideas. The blog is formatted exceptionally, with newest posts most visibly and interesting visuals. Similarly, the Overseas Development Institute Blog is comprised of posts by experts in the field of development, writing and working to promote it in hopes to reduce poverty. It is regularly updated, somewhat interactive, lacks any stimulating visuals, but highly recommended for its content. The last blog that I came across in the field of development was a section in the website for the World Development Movement. In my opinion, this is the most interesting of the group blogs for development because it provides sub-blogs by people promoting development in different countries around the world. They document their experiences while posing suggestions for developmental changes in their regions. It is the most personal and provides a different outlook on development because it is not written by someone who has studied a poverty-stricken country, but someone who is living it. All of the sub-blogs are very interactive, and provide images as well as videos. After finding useful blogs on development, I went to a source I knew would be helpful, the United Nations section on Economic and Social Development. It is useful because it provides links to related issues, updated news, UN publications, and trustworthy statistics. While it lacks any interactivity or capturing images, it is always a legitimate source for general information on poverty worldwide. Finally, I included three sources that I turn to regularly for updates. The first is the World Bank's website on poverty. It provides general information and different analyses on the causes and possible solutions to poverty. With clear organization and useful images, it also gives an overview on how the World Bank is helping to alleviate poverty world wide. CARE's website is one that I like to visit it is useful to follow up on an organization dedicated to ridding the world of poverty. The website has powerful images like the one to the right that is used to promote their slogan "I Am Powerful", as well as a wonderful color scheme that is very inviting. While visually pleasing, the website's content is helpful in showing breaking news as well as programs CARE organizes around the world. Lastly, I turned to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). As one of the first international NGOs, the ICRC is still a major source of information and aid to those struggling worldwide. It is easy to navigate and highlights ICRC programs, provides updated breaking news, sources in international humanitarian law, and wonderful photos from around the world. The web proved to be more useful than expected in organizations' websites that provide general information on poverty as well as blogs that stimulate discussion over causes and solutions.