Author: Sarah Coiro

PHNOM PENH — Proper waste disposal is important to maintaining a clean appearance and making space for city development, and a crucial element to a healthy community. The poor state of waste disposal in the developing world is spreading disease and polluting the air, land and water. Aside from the environmental and public health concerns introduced by improper waste disposal, these countries are missing out on valuable opportunities for economic growth. Cities with garbage and waste lining the streets tend to scare away good residents, investors and tourists, a potential detriment to a developing economy. The city of Phnom Penh…

SEATTLE — The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country located in southern Africa with dynamic human rights and politics. Recently, foreign and domestic powers made strides to address the gaps in the current constitution to foster human rights reform and a higher standard of living for Zambian natives. Within its political framework, the country is governed by a president and follows the basics of the British court system. As a participatory democracy, the president is elected by universal adult suffrage to no more than two five-year terms. While this political system is intended to promote individual rights and voting…

NEW DELHI — As a country, India has been making enormous strides in economic development in recent years. Despite this national progress, the population below the poverty line has also increased, nearly doubling within the past two decades. Perhaps the most shocking part of the cost of living in India is the extreme pockets of wealth and poverty beside each other. Slums border even Mumbai, the most wealthy and prosperous of Indian cities. Some inhabitants make a meager $25 to $30 to support their family over the course of an entire year. The current population living in slums is more…

SEATTLE — While impoverished countries like Somalia and Afghanistan are plagued with malnutrition, illiteracy and the lack of quality health care, a different epidemic is taking place in developed countries worldwide. This epidemic, known as relative poverty, can be defined by a lack of the minimum income required to maintain the average standard of living in a specific area or social community. The effects of relative poverty can be as mild as feelings of social isolation or as dangerous as lacking sound health care insurance. Unlike absolute poverty which is defined in fairly standard and universal terms, relative poverty must…