Author: Katherine Martin

SEATTLE— Psychology has shown that getting big projects finished requires a careful balance of focus on the goal and on specific tasks within the goal. For extreme poverty, USAID has taken this into account with their Extreme Possibilities campaign. A study on this perspective balance captured the idea, “Think of it like a 100 hundred metres runner. Moments before the race they look off into the distance, in the general direction of the finish line. Moments after the starting gun fires they stare down at the ground…Smoothly the head comes up, then, towards the end of the race, they have…

LONDON — Around the globe, various schools are raising awareness, money and ideas in order to alleviate global poverty. At London Imperial College, four groups of students have joined together to come up with new entrepreneurship ideas for a solution. The College’s Business School partnered with Global Action on Poverty (GAP) to form a competition for students. GAP is a global platform that focuses on generating new ideas for alleviating poverty. The group’s focus is to find individuals that want to create change. “To us, Changemakers are the ones who have an idea or are already working on initiatives to…

Yasmin Belo-Osagie and Afua Osei are two female entrepreneurs that are taking on gender inequality in Africa by empowering women through their platform called She Leads Africa, which provides support and guidance to young women entrepreneurs. According to CNN, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship across the world at 27 percent. “But most of these businesses tend to have no employees and low growth expectations: they are, for the most part, one-woman enterprises oriented to consumers,” CNN reports. Belo-Osagie and Osei met at an event in Lagos, Nigeria where they bonded over their frustrations with gender inequality…

Women may joke about sending their husbands to school in order to be trained in how to make their wives’ lives better, but in Niger this is a reality. Husbands’ Schools exist to improve maternal health across the nation. According to data compiled by The World Bank, in 2015, it is estimated there will be 553 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in Niger. While this number over the years has been on the decline, it remains high relative to many other countries. In order to combat this issue, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) created Husbands’ Schools to…

When it comes to eradicating global poverty, there are many obstacles including access to clean water, education, healthcare and a means to earn a living. For people living in poverty in fragile states, these obstacles are even harder to overcome. The non-profit World Vision defines fragile states as “broken places where governments aren’t able to provide basic services and support to their populations, especially the poor. People in poverty in fragile states can’t depend on public institutions for education, health, and clean water.” The organization says that by 2030, “two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor are estimated to be in…

SEATTLE – According to the United Nations, the state of sanitation remains a powerful indicator of the state of human development in any community. Facilities that ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact to improve sanitation allow for better health outcomes, more productivity, and improved safety for female citizens. In fact, cross-country studies show that the method of disposing of excreta is one of the strongest determinants of child survival. “The transition from unimproved to improved sanitation reduces overall child mortality by about a third,” the UN reports. “Improved sanitation also brings advantages for public health, livelihoods and…

SEATTLE — USAID is the primary agency in the United States responsible for foreign aid to countries throughout the world. Alleviating global poverty is the main goal of this aid. “USAID extends help from the American people to achieve results for the poorest and most vulnerable around the world,” the agency’s website states. “That assistance does not represent a Democratic value or a Republican value, but an American value; as beneficiaries of peace and prosperity.” Through their partnerships, USAID targets a variety of problems. These areas include, but are not limited to, health, emergency response, government, agriculture, education and environmental…

MARTINSBURG, WV— Throughout the world, there are many nonprofit organizations working to reduce and end the global poverty crisis. The following are ten organizations that take a unique approach: Nest The mission of this nonprofit is to create positive social change through artisans. Nest partners with various artisans to build up business and competition in order to transform communities and alleviate poverty. When it comes to their goals, they focus on three main areas: viable, visible and valuable. By making businesses viable, women visible, and crafts valuable, Nest develops unique ways to fight poverty through crafts and the arts. Heifer…

SEATTLE — In early October, the United Nations issued a report stating more than 100 cities have taken a pledge to fight hunger by reducing food waste. This pledge comes in the form of the Urban Food Policy Pact. The focus of this pact is to develop both equitable and sustainable food systems. According to the U.N.’s report, “the pact includes five core actions: engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure an enabling environment; promote sustainable diets and nutrition; ensure equitable access to food; promote rural-urban food production and supply; and reduce food waste.” By focusing on cities, the U.N. hopes…