One of the world’s poorest countries in the world, the Central African Republic – located just north of the equator in Central Africa – has been described by the United Nations as “the world’s most silent crisis.” Water quality in the Central African Republic is still a challenge, with the lack of basic infrastructure and ongoing regional and local political instability presenting the greatest obstacles for the local populations to gain access to clean water. Low water quality in the Central African Republic is correlated with the standards of living for the internally displaced, who are mostly women and children.…
Author: Mohammed Khalid
Mohammed Khalid
Mohammed Khalid writes for The Borgen Project from the quiet suburbs of Maryland. His personal and academic interests include journalism, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, writing, and constitutional and immigration law. Mohammed was born in the United Arab Emirates and grew up in both Pakistan and the United States. He is passionately (and perpetually) involved in building empathy by engaging with others and learning about their lives and stories.
SEATTLE — The term ‘poverty trap’ describes binding poverty that cripples people’s livelihoods and forces them to remain stagnant without allowing them a means to escape it or be able to save and invest their meager earnings. Many theories have been proposed for why certain people, households and regions find themselves in total destitution. Investing in healthcare is one way to help break the poverty trap. With more than one billion people living below the international poverty line, general causes of persistent extreme poverty have been the subject of much debate. Commentators generally agree that the most destitute regions of…
SEATTLE — St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a 32-island chain located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea and mostly untouched by tourists. The sovereign country’s renewable water sources reach about 100 million cubic meters every year. Demand for potable water in the islands is just above 1 percent of the available water supply. Deterioration of water quality in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a pressing matter. The wooded, volcanic mountains in St. Vincent is divided into 16 watersheds and accompanied by numerous small streams. Average national demand for water on the island is met mostly by the…
SEATTLE — The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe is an archipelago located close to the equator and off the coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. More than five times the size of Washington, D.C., Sao Tome and Principe consists of two islands of volcanic origin along with several rocky islets. Though the island nation has more than 50 watercourses, water pollution remains a significant problem. A lack of adequate water treatment systems means that the water quality in Sao Tome and Principe is questionable. Certain regions far away from the watercourses are subject to water shortages.…
ST. KITTS AND NEVIS — The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is a country of two small, tropical, mountainous islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea. With beaches composed of black and silver volcanic fertile sand, the country has a combined area of 104 square miles and is well-watered. In 2012, 98 percent of the population had access to good water quality in St. Kitts and Nevis, which has about 23.6 million cubic meters of renewable surface and ground water sources. The largest lake in the country is the Great Salt Pond; the seasonable Wingfield and Cayon rivers discharge in…
SAINT LUCIA — An island in the Caribbean off the coast of Central America, Saint Lucia (St. Lucia) is a British Commonwealth country in between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. St. Lucia’s official website advertises the turquoise waters surrounding the island as “offer[ing] a plethora of rejuvenating and restorative adventures to build the body, mind, and soul” and as “some of the clearest waters in the world…” In its Public Health (Water Quality Control) Regulations promulgated on March 11, 1978, the authorities prohibited “impairment” with the water quality in St. Lucia. The types of impairment covered by the…
PALIKIR, Micronesia — The Federated States of Micronesia is an independent island nation located southwest of Hawaii. The sovereign country comprises about 607 islands in the western Pacific region and has a free association agreement with the United States. There are approximately 70 public and community water systems in the country. However, only five undergo any type of treatment or adequate maintenance. Poor water quality in Micronesia has caused real damage in the past. For example, about two decades ago, a cholera outbreak in the Pohnpei island resulted in 20 deaths and 3,500 people being affected. Poor wastewater control was…
SEATTLE — The main sources of water supply in the Tuvalu islands, a low-lying atoll in the Pacific, are rainfall and rainwater harvesting. Pollution in lagoonal coasts (the bodies of water enclosed by islands and reefs) is endemic, with domestic wastewater deemed the primary culprit. Research found that domestic wastewater leaking from so-called “bottomless” (or unsealed from the bottom) septic tanks and pit toilets runs off to the lagoonal coast, carried by the tides. The issue of water quality in Tuvalu is deeply concerning to government officials, who recognize that pollution remains a chronic problem and needs to be remediated.…
ZAGREB — With 1,800 kilometers of coastline on the Adriatic Sea, Croatia is a very popular tourist destination situated between central and eastern Europe. The country straddles the borders of the Danube Basin and the Adriatic, with rivers flowing in from international destinations. Noted for its stunning beaches, beautiful waterfalls, colorful lakes and ecological diversity, Croatia possesses unevenly distributed yet abundant portions of both surface and groundwater. The country is considered to be one of the most bio-diverse in Europe due to its strategic location between the Mediterranean region and the Central European continental area. Water quality in Croatia is generally…
SEATTLE — Less than 1 percent of the $4 trillion federal budget – that is, less than a penny on every dollar – goes towards foreign aid. Effectively addressing global threats requires that the public spend at least as much as it lavishes on candy, lawn care and soda drinks. Today’s evolved global threats require involved foreign aid and investment. Why? Foreign aid is in the public’s national security interest. The nature of terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida demonstrates the evolution of unprecedented threats faced today. Barbaric attacks akin to those in London Bridge and Kabul diplomatic quarters…