Central african republic causes of poverty

Central african republic causes of poverty Introduction Poverty as defined by the United Nations is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and cloth a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow ones food or a job to earn ones living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living on marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation (UN Statement, 1998). The major areas of the world that are prone to the evil of poverty are the countries of Africa and Asia. There are many countries in Africa where the people are not able to meet their one ends meal. We can also see from the figure below that especially in the central part of Africa or Sub-Saharan countries most of the people struggle very hard to earn even $3-$9 per day and to make their living. Central African Republic (CAR) which is a part of Sub-Saharan African countries is one those countries where people face this problem. Central African Republic CAR, a former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. The Central African Republic ranks 171 as a poor country. The Central African Republic is classified as one of the worlds least developed countries, with an estimated annual per capita income of $310 (2000). While real incomes in Africa have risen ten-fold whereas they have been stagnated in CAR. Central African Republic has also seen no improvement on almost every indicator from health, education and governance to the ease of doing business. Causes of Poverty in CAR There are many factors that ignite the fire of poverty in CAR in which poor agriculture conditions and lack of adequate medical facilities are the main causes. Agriculture is the backbone of its unstable economy. Also the hospitals and medical institutes of CAR are unable in providing the good and necessary medical facilities. The other main problems with development are the poor transportation infrastructure, and the weak internal and international marketing system (US department, 1989). Lack of education and awareness is also one factor that hinders the development of the country by coming in the path of an individuals social life. Female are still kept apart with the bookish knowledge. Only 32% of the total female population was able to make it up to secondary school where as the adult literacy rate for men is 54% (UN, 2009). Economy Central African Republic has one of the least developed economies in the world. The GDP per capita here in 2008 is only $700 (CIA, 2008 est.). A major factor behind its bad economy is its landlocked position and misdirected macroeconomic policies of government. Income distribution is unequal throughout the nation. Although it receives grants from France and other international communities but its only enough to meet the humanitarian needs (Barro, Robert J., 1995).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  GDP growth slowed to an estimated 2.2% in 2008 from 3.7% in 2007. The economy suffered a number of shocks that depressed activity and led to the disappointing result electricity outages, a plunge in timber and diamond exports, higher international food and fuel prices, and continuing social tensionsInvalid source specified.. Agricultural Conditions The Central African Republics economy is dominated by the cultivation and sale of food crops such as yams, cassava, peanuts, maize, sorghum, millet, sesame, and plantains. The most important export of the CAR is diamond that accounts 40-55% of export revenues, but an estimated 30-50% of the diamonds produced each year leave the country clandestinely. The shares of the three agricultural value-added sectors in Sub-Saharan African countries consist of 28% for export crops, 45% for cereals, and 27% for other agriculture (Janvry and Sadoulet, 2001, pp. 1). Poor economic development hinders the export trade, and the location of this country far from the coast. Most of the rural and urban women are indulge in the work of transformation of some food crops into alcoholic drinks like sorghum beer or hard liquor and derive considerable income from the sale of these drinks. In CAR, subsistence farming prevails. Only 4% of the arable land is cultivated each year and more than one in three childr en under the age of five are chronically malnourished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The importance of food crops over exported cash crops is illustrated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 tons a year, while the production of cotton, the principal exported cash crop, ranges from c. 25,000 to 45,000 tons a year. Food crops does not constitute in the principal cash crops of the country because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus food crops than from exported cash crops such as cotton or coffee. The Sub-Saharan African economies are remarkable for the large share of agriculture in GDP (47%), and hence the large potential aggregate growth effects derived from technological change in agriculture. For the rural poor, income derived from agriculture is 67% of total income, with the remaining 32% derived from wage earnings. For them, an agricultural commodity makes a large share (72%) of total consumption. Children and Women Sector The conditions of children and women are very pathetic in this country. They are often deprived of their rights. Children are unable to get proper and required education. They find it very hard to get even primary education. Women also work very hard in their homes to add some income for their family. Also one of the biggest evils that are in common practice here is children and women trafficking. The CAR is an origin for trafficking in children and women. Children are trafficked to Cameroon. Children from Chad, Nigeria, and Sudan are reportedly trafficked to the Central African Republic. There is also internal trafficking in the Central African Republic. According to the recent study of the United Nations Childrens Fund trafficking in African women and children that are done for forced prostitution or labor is caused due to war, poverty, and flawed or nonexistent birth registration systems. â€Å"Poverty aggravates already desperate conditions caused by conflict, discrimination, and repression, and unregistered children are easy to move between countries because they never formally acquire a nationality.†(Fowler, 2004) The study also found that the population which is most vulnerable to trafficking in Africa consist of 3.3 million refugees and 12.7 million internally displaced persons (UNICEF)(Fowler, 2004). Education system in Central African Republic is also a major factor that encourages poverty. Also only 50% of the children in CAR are enrolled in primary school. The other 50% lacks in opportunity to receive even the most basic education because of violence, poverty, or also because there are no teachers, facilities or materials with which to operate a school. With its Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Central African government has announced several goals that are intended to focus efforts in the education sector that includes achieving universal primary education, improving the quality of education in general, developing literacy programs, developing short professional training courses and professionalizing higher education. Also this sector is so important that it is also considered as one of the eight goals in Millennium Development Goals. The obstacles are many, but the past has shown that humanitarian organizations working in tandem with the government can achieve positive results (United Nations, 2008). Health Sector Life expectancy of its meager population 4.3 million ranges from 43.46 to 43.62 years. The major threat to the people there is HIV. People are at very high degree of risk to many other fatal diseases like malaria, hepatitis-A, malaria and rabies. As estimated in 2004 there were fewer than 3 physicians and 9 nurses per 100,000 people (Whiteside, A., 2002)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to United Nations approximately 11% of the population aged between 15 and 49 is HIV positive. About 13.5% of its population is at risk of AIDS. During 2003 approximately 23000 adults and children died of HIV/AIDS epidemic. Also by the end of 2003 about 110,000 children lost one or both of their parents to AIDS. The main reason that led to the deterioration of basic health services in the country is political instability and civil conflicts, thus weakening the national response to this epidemic (WHO, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the people Central African Republic earns a very low-income it is very hard for them to meet the very high cost of drugs that is needed for their treatment. There are concerns about the adequate availability of antiretroviral drugs and financial capacity to sustain the cost of providing antiretroviral therapy free of user charges in the public sector. Additional support is required for decentralization process to ensure that services are accessible at the district level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During 2004-2005 WHO estimated that CAR requires between US$ 31.1 million and US$ 32.3 million to scale up antiretroviral therapy to reach the WHO â€Å"3 by 5† treatment target of 19 500 people (WHO, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A successful proposal which focuses on scaling up voluntary counseling and testing services, preventing mother-to-child transmission and improving access to antiretroviral therapy was submitted to the Global Fund by the Central African Republic to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with a total funding request of US$ 25 million. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It can be seen that Central African Republic is facing many problems these days related from agriculture to health care system. As we can see that the major problem in front of the countrys growth is the HIV AIDS. Also government needs to come up with more effective development programs. Government and the localities should think to improve the backbone of its economy. Despite having some of the most fertile land in Africa, the agricultural sector in the Central African Republic (CAR) has languished severely. A combination of insecurity, a lack in security, trade routes, of infrastructure, tools and skills has conspired against a country otherwise blessed with natural resources. Bibliography V. T. LeVine, Political Leadership in Africa (1967). P. Kalck, Central African Republic: Economy (tr. 1971). Barro, Robert J., Inflation and Economic Growth (October 1995). NBER Working Paper No. W5326. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=225390 Jonathan Fowler, â€Å"UNICEF: Human Trafficking in Africa Fueled by War, Economic Hardship, and Lack of Birth Registration,† Associated Press, 23 April 2004. UN Statement, June 1998 -signed by the heads of all UN agencies.

The Humanities in Education Essay -- Educating Culture Humanities Essa

The Humanities in Education Education is the opportunity to learn and grow in your community, society, workplace, and even inside you. Education, quoted from Jon Spayde, a well-known interviewer and editor in his article titled Learning in the Key of Life, is about power: the power to know about the world around you and the people near and far from you. Education is culture, passed down from one group of people to another. We learn about these people through the humanities. Earl Shorris, a teacher for lower-class students quoted in the article Spayde wrote, said to his students on the first day of class, "You've been cheated. Rich people learn the humanities; you didn't. The humanities are a foundation for getting along in the world, for thinking, for learning to reflect on the world instead of just reacting to whatever force is turned against you" (60). What a powerful statement Shorris shared with his students. But why are the humanities a foundation? What foundation is Shorris talking about? And what constit utes the humanities? This foundation is the basic understanding of other cultures, and the ability to relate to many different types of people. This can be difficult to achieve, but education has the humanities to help. The humanities can be defined many different ways. The Readers Digest Dictionary defines the humanities as: the branches of learning (as philosophy, arts, or languages) that investigate human constructs and concerns as opposed to natural processes (as in physics or chemistry) and social relations (as in anthropology or economics) (652). This was the third definition of the word. The definition defines the humanities the best, as we know them today. But Spayde has another very interesting way to define t... ...e people from all races and countries. Keeping an open mind while traveling through your educational journey will help you enjoy and love the lessons you learn. Just remember to learn to embrace other people and cultures, and love the subtle subjects that are offered in the humanities. They truly will open doors of ideas that you didnt think you had in you. Works Cited Mission Statements. The Presence of Others. Ed. Marilyn Moller. Boston:Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. 51- 57. The Readers Digest Encyclopedia Dictionary. Ed. Sidney L. Landau. Pleasantville: The Readers Digest Association, 1966. 652,1336. Rose, Mike. Lives on the Boundary. The Presence of Others. Ed. Marilyn Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. 105-119. Spayde, Jon. Learning in the Key of Life. The Presence of Others. Ed. Marilyn Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. 58 64.

Online Exhibition Essay: A More Perfect Union

At the height of the internment of the Japanese Americans during World War II, the number of individuals relocated and housed at the internment camps reached a staggering 120,000 individuals.Spread over 10 camps nationwide, that were defined by remoteness and remove from the general structure of American society, these people many of which were born American citizens lived their lives under lock and key simply because of their cultural ancestry.Not only men, but women, children, and the elderly were classified as â€Å"enemy aliens† following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Using national security as justification, the U.S. government displaced and imprisoned these Japanese Americans for 2 years, taking not only their freedom but their assets as well.Given the information contained in the Smithsonian’s exhibition, A More Perfect Union, the justification of national security was faulty and played off prejudice rather than common sense. The Japanese migration to Hawaii and t he U.S. mainland began in 1861 and continued through to 1940. During this time over 275,000 individuals immigrated.Many of the first generation Japanese who came to the U.S. worked on sugar cane fields in Hawaii and on fruit and vegetable farms in California. There they established communities and were able to surround themselves with cultural familiarity but as their population grew, animosity against them also began to grow.Within a couple years of their first arrival, the Hawaii legislator passed laws restricting the immigration of Japanese. By 1907, the U.S. had restricted the travel of Japanese from Hawaii to the mainland. The exhibit notes that by 1940, forty percent of the population of Hawaii owed at least part of their ancestry to Japanese.In California, the Japanese Americans fought similar odds as their tenacity and success made them easy targets of racially fueled jealousy.The racism against them, however, was not limited to the unsuccessful farmer down the road but rath er reached into every branch of government. Unable to own land or become citizens, many Japanese placed their properties in the name of their children who had been born in the U.S. and were therefore citizens.The Supreme Court itself, played on the side of the oppressor, ruling against Japanese immigrants and upholding racist laws and restrictions.Anti-Japanese propaganda was also common place in the years leading up to Pearl Harbor, including bubble gum cards sold to children and political cartoons, editorials and speeches. Once the Japanese American population established itself as a living and growing community in the United States, the hatred became more concentrated.With the drop of the bomb on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese Americans fate was sealed. Americans had followed the Japanese Army’s support of Hitler and Mussolini, they were aware of the military power. What American’s were not prepared for was for that military power to reach across the Pa cific and tap them on the shoulder.The exhibit notes that in the panic that ensued along the West Coast, along with the prejudices already in place and made policy, the Japanese Americans became an easy target for political kowtowing and venting the prejudices which had until then only bubbled. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s issuance of executive order 9066, the situation exploded into full blown segregation.What is interesting to note, is that though the U.S. was also in a war against Germany and Italy, Italian American and German Americans were not targeted under E.O. 9066, â€Å"While German or Italian enemies were often viewed as misguided victims of despotic leaders, Japanese people were referred to as â€Å"yellow vermin,† â€Å"mad dogs,† and â€Å"monkey men.† Racist wartime propaganda further exacerbated fears of invasion and prejudice against people of Japanese decent.†Much of the political and military justification for the remov al of Japanese Americans was blatantly fueled by individual racism and not sound strategy. Congressman from the West Coast, who had their own individual prejudices against their own Japanese American communities were some of the strongest supporters of the measure.The initial order was for the military to remove persons from their jurisdiction who were seen to be threats to national security but the removal wasn’t limited to individuals near air bases or the coast but stretched far across the country, uprooting them from their homes and leaving them to take only what they could carry. Disobeying the order was not an option nor was it considered correct.Japanese American, Morgan Yamanaka, in recalling her own experience explains that it wasn’t in their upbringing to disobey the authority of the federal government, â€Å"I think one has to appreciate what our parents, the immigrant parents taught us: â€Å"Always respect order coming from the people above you. Respect your teachers, respect the government, respect the law.Be obedient, be reserved, be a good Japanese according to good Japanese traditions.† Though I doubt it was willing, there was little protest on the part of the Japanese Americans. However, perhaps this loyalty and obedience to the U.S. government despite the criminal nature of   E.O. 9066, was also a factor in the survival of spirit and their reemergence back into American society following the camps.The camp experience though far less extreme, despite the designation of internment rather than the Nazi concentration camps, did not differ so much from the Jews experiences in Germany during the same time.Fenced in by barbed wire and soldiers with guns, their were housed in substandard barracks and worked for minimal wages to help support the camp and war effort. Many used their opportunities at work as ways to continue their lives outside the context of the camp, while remaining imprisoned.The things which occupied their t ime such as artwork and making of furniture, the expression of their freedom through imagination are what I would most recommend to someone viewing the exhibit. The works, though deeply disturbing in the recurrence of the fences and general feeling of entrapment present in some, shows a freedom that no imprisonment can stifle.While the body is imprisoned, the mind continues to go forth into the world even if it is only a recoloring of the same landscape, dusty and isolated. To maintain artistic expression under such duress is a true show of the strength needed to survive becoming an unknowing enemy.By 1943, the U.S. government was asking all residents of the camp to fill out a questionnaire to determine their loyalty to the U.S. Some, feeling tricked and manipulated by the maneuver and the questions on the forms, chose to reply no to certain questions, such as â€Å"†Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States†¦ and forswear any form of allegiance or obedi ence to the Japanese emperor, to any other foreign government, power or organization?†The exhibit explains that some of the interned Japanese Americans saw the question as a double edged sword. If they were to answer yes, than they would be implying that they had ever been disloyal to the U.S. government and to answer no was to seal their fate. The ones who were deemed loyal were able to start on the road back to a normal life, the others were segregated further.Among these were children and natural born U.S. citizens. At the end of the war, over 4,000 Japanese Americans (all but 100 under the age of 20) were repatriated to Japan.

The Main Contribution Of Growth - 1157 Words

What is art? What does it mean to be a part of the art? Every September Grand Rapids hosts Art Prize which is the largest art competition in the world. What does that mean? The city turns into a rainbow of color, and a sea of people. Artists, spectators, and critics alike gather to embrace the two week experience. Art Prize was launched by Rick Davos, to ignite conversation in Grand Rapids. A conservative Christian city dominated by Republic views, private art, subversive racism, and homelessness. Spectators love it, artist loath it, and critics run the gamut, but little information has been published outside of the organization. Since Art Prize started in 2008 and has grown substantially. The main contribution of growth has been the financial gain from tourism that has boosted the local economy in a time of slow restructuring for Grand Rapids which the Devos family has greatly contributed too over generations. Family philanthropy is a well-established tradition in Grand Rapids, which can be linked to its Conservative Christian affluence and the rise of sustainability awareness and city pride. There is a strong sense of comradery between groups; Art Prize brings all walks of life together in a visually and mentally stimulating environment. Art prize is a way of breaking down boundaries to connect people at a conceptual level. By that I mean, while two people are fully immersed in a piece of art in a crowded room there is a mutual connection that can igniteShow MoreRelatedContribution Of The Aviation Industry On The Uk Economy1261 Words   |  6 PagesTax 6. Conclusion Contribution of the aviation industry to the UK Economy 1. Introduction This explosion provides research of how the UK Economy contributes to the Aviation industry in various way with the standard points and innovation – have impacted on UK economic growth through the Aviation industry. 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