Author: Kristina Evans

AFGHANISTAN — Even after the Taliban fell from power from Afghanistan in 2001, the world’s fifteenth least developed country continues to experience setbacks in education. Over half of schools have failing infrastructure, half of teachers did not complete secondary school, textbooks are minimally available and in 2012, 500 schools closed due to militant violence. Yet, those who are the most deeply affected by the lack of education in Afghanistan are girls. For the five years they held control over Afghanistan, the Taliban prohibited girls from going to school and forbade female instructors from teaching. Since girls could not receive an education in…

SAN FRANCISCO, California — Fifty years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, acknowledged basic education as a fundamental human right. Yet today, upwards of 757 million people around the world are illiterate. In an effort to improve global literacy, Pearson is using its leverage as the world’s largest education company alongside the Unreasonable Group­, a for-profit holding company for social-impact entrepreneurs, to close the global literacy gap once and for all. Together, they created the Project Literacy Lab, a universal campaign to eradicate illiteracy in all corners of the earth by the year 2030. However, the Project Literacy Lab is…

ITALY — According to a new report published by Save the Children Italy, the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Europe’s Mediterranean region is increasing sharply. Nearly 11,000 children landed in Italy between January and June of this year. With the volume of lone children rising, the issue of child trafficking in Europe is becoming more serious than ever before. These children, coming from countries like Nigeria, Egypt and Romania, brave treacherous seas to flee conflict, poverty and famine in hope of finding safety in Europe. According to Save the Children Italy, however, new tactics used by child traffickers put these…

GERMANY — Nearly a year has passed since the migrant crisis sent shockwaves throughout Europe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to offer asylum to 1 million refugees, causing a paradoxical narrative of open arms and anti-immigrant tensions amongst locals. But what exactly do we know about the refugees in Germany? Here are 10 fast facts about the current situation: Germany welcomed beyond one million refugees in 2015, 430,000 of whom escaped the grave humanitarian disaster in Syria. According to the United Nations (U.N.), well over half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million Syrians are in need of dire…

ACCRA, Ghana– According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health in Ghana has consistently improved over the past few decades. Not only has life expectancy increased, but maternal and child death rates have also dropped. Nevertheless, malaria and a variety of non-communicable diseases still threaten the health of Ghanaians. Additionally, the health sector itself is suffering. The WHO reports a shortage of proficient healthcare providers and a healthcare quality disparity between rural and urban areas. Despite these impediments, Ghana recently gained status as an emerging market economy. While exciting, the country’s new status comes with many challenges — challenges PYXERA Global…

BOLIVIA – In 1999, the Bolivian government privatized the water supply in the Andean city of Cochabamba, taking the earth’s most precious resource away from over 500,000 people. The Water War protests erupted over water quality and were met by a violent standoff between civilians and the Bolivian military. This is until the government finally broke-off contracts with the British investors to whom they sold the water system. Now, 17 years later, has the Bolivian Government’s attitude towards water changed? And what does this mean for water quality in Bolivia — has it improved since the Cochabamba crisis? Unfortunately, Bolivia’s water…

NEW DELHI — Over the span of a few days in August, the Climate Group, along with the Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as well as the Clean Energy Access Network, hosted the India Energy Access Summit of 2016. Energy professionals from around the world gathered to discuss the impact of investing in providing power to India. This discussion will help the country achieve its development goals. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that according to the latest data in 2011, India is the country with the highest population—306 million—lacking electricity. Energy consultant and former secretary…

SEATTLE — When most people consider global poverty, “progress” is not usually the first word that comes to mind. However, evidence regarding the change in global poverty rates over time reveals that the world is on the right path. Although the World Bank’s global poverty data begin in 1981, two researchers named Bourguignon and Morrison reconfigured poverty statistics from 1820 onward. Their findings suggest that over the past 20 decades, poverty has been declining. According to Bourguignon’s and Morrison’s research, in 1820, most people lived in conditions similar to extreme poverty (less than $1 per day). Due to rapid economic…

WASHINGTON — In June, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations met to discuss the worldwide effects U.S. nutrition programs have on ending child hunger. Dr. Beth Dunford, Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Food Security, and Ajay Markanday, Director of the Liaison Office for North America of the UN’S Food and Agricultural Organization, appeared before the congressional leaders. The hearing specifically focused on the significance of nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life. Dr. Dunford, who is also the Deputy Coordinator for Development for the Feed the Future initiative, cited that…

GAMBIA — Throughout West Africa, child marriage is a persistent barrier to women’s equality, health, education, social development and economic success. In response to this, Gambian president Yahya Jammeh recently announced a new law prohibiting children under 18 years old from marriage. Gambia’s new measure, which is set to be approved by the National Assembly by the end of July, is a major step forward for women and girls in the country, 30 percent of whom are married by their 18th birthday. The president’s wife and spearhead of Gambia’s campaign against child marriage, Madam Zineb Jammeh, called for the eradication…