By investing in Africa’s food markets, governments can win the fight against stunting and improve nutrition across the continent. And with support from institutions like the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), the results would be a win-win situation for all. “What a huge potential the food markets represent. “Feed Africa,” which is one of the Bank’s […]
Month: August 2019
Clean Water & Hygiene are essential for poor countries to join the 21st Century
World Vision leads the way in developing Clean Water, Hygiene Education and Sanitation in poor countries Worldwide. World Vision’s global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
program has a goal to eliminate this need by 2030 in all areas they serve. In 2018 World Vision’s global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) program reached an incredible 4 million people with clean water, 2.8 million with sanitation, and 5 million with hygiene education. Using their boots on the ground, local and global partnerships approach to solving problems, they are on track to meet the ambitious goal of providing clean water to everyone in the countries they serve by 2030. See below for excerpts from their Water Global 2018 Annual Report and a link to the complete report.
“We remain committed to reaching everyone, everywhere we
work with clean water by 2030—an ambitious but achievable
goal that means reaching 50 million people between 2015 and
2030. As an interim goal—and to make sure we remain on
track—we’ve committed to reach 20 million people between
2015 and 2020. This report demonstrates that we are on
track to fulfill that commitment, having reached 12.7 million
people with clean water in the first three years of this five year
commitment.” — World Vision WATER GLOBAL ANNUAL REPORT
October 2017 through September 2018
for Full Report click here
Global Reach 2018
4 MILLION PEOPLE provided with access to clean drinking water* 2.8 MILLION PEOPLE gained access to improved household sanitation 5 MILLION PEOPLE reached with hygiene behavior-change programming
2018 ANNUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
53,830 water points built 2018 target: 38,684 Goal met: 139%
499,244 sanitation facilities built 2018 target: 465,219 Goal met: 107%
494,067 hand-washing facilities built 2018 target: 476,966 Goal met: 104%
6,735 WASH committees formed 2018 target: 6,147 Goal met: 110%
* This includes rural community water beneficiaries (3,242,291) and municipal water beneficiaries (760,023). The 4 million people with access to water represent many of the same beneficiaries that received access to sanitation facilities and behavior-change programming. Of these, 1,210,523 were reached with World Vision U.S. private funding.
A total of 12.7 million people have accessed clean drinking water since FY16, including 3.3 million who were reached with World Vision U.S. private funding since FY16.
2018 ANNUAL SPENDING
$145.6 MILLION spent on global WASH programs during 2018.
World Vision U.S. – Private Funding & Child Sponsorship ($63.9 million) 44%
Other World Vision Offices – Private Funding & Child Sponsorship ($41.1 million) 28%
Government, International, Local – Grants & Resource Development ($40.6 million) 28%
How you can help
World Vision is the go-to source for wisely investing in a healthy, promising future for developing countries worldwide. World Vision works directly with the people, unlike some other charitable organizations, which work through governments, which may be corrupt and may keep donated goods for themselves or distribute them unfairly. You can get involved through donations, working with their teams and many other ways at either World Vision.org or World Vision Philanthropy.org. You can also sponsor a child or designate one-time or monthly donations to specific needs such as medical or educational supplies, emergency food, shelter or warm clothing. Since many companies provide goods free and only the shipping cost is needed, your donation magnifies in value. A gift catalog allows you to share the cost of larger projects such as a deep water well. Please donate or volunteer to work with their teams.
Get Out of the Way! Let Africa catch up to developed countries
get out of the way!! UN & advocacy groups keep Africa and Developing Countries where the entire Preindustrial world was in the past
Much of Africa and the developing world are where the whole world was before the advances in technology and knowledge in the 19th and 20th century; the entire world was struggling, poor and sick, so that even the more well-off people had short lifespans due to preventable and curable diseases, poor nutrition and infections. In the developed world, widespread acceptance of germ theory and the development of antibiotics and vaccines only occurred in the early to mid 20th century. Malaria, meaning “bad air,’ was only eradicated in the developed world, in the mid 20th century due to 20 plus years of spraying pesticides for effective mosquito control, development of anti-malaria medicines and window screens. Likewise, malaria in poor countries could be reduced or eradicated by allowing proper pesticide use and providing malaria medicines.
Even into the late 20th century, some isolated areas in the developed world did not have electricity, purified water or paved roads and some people still lived in drafty shacks or log cabins, sometimes with dirt floors. Before the improvements in infrastructure, large multi-generational families were the norm because of high childhood death rates and the need for surviving children to care for their parents in a world where there was no social safety net for the disabled and elderly. Large families also filled the need for labor in a world where mechanical devices were few or lacking and back breaking work was needed for every job, whether agricultural, industrial or domestic. Without reliable electricity, transportation systems and industrial and agricultural development, we all could be back there now.
Source: UN Fund for Population Activities at https://www.unfpa.org/data
This is where rural Africa and underdeveloped countries are now. What will it take for developing countries to catch up with the developed world? First, we need to end counterproductive and damaging interference by international organizations that are working under wrong assumptions from the distant past about supposed overpopulation as a cause of environmental harm. Wrong practices include imposing population control and blocking effective insect and disease control, as well as modern agriculture and infrastructure development, while putting cultural and wildlife preservation above the real immediate needs of the people. Poverty, not overpopulation, causes environmental harm. Improving the economy can stabilize the population and preserve both cultural heritage and wildlife. Modern agricultural practices can end slash and burn deforestation and feed everyone.
Africa needs Investment, Infrastructure, Employment, Education and Disease Control.
Education in hygiene can end much of the disease burden, facilitate clean water and sanitation systems, and provide a healthy workforce. Education in agricultural, industrial and technical skills can open opportunities for employment, small business earnings and raise their standard of living. Transportation in the form of improved and extended roads and railroads can end isolation, encourage foreign investment and provide access to markets, employment opportunities, education and medical facilities.
Reliable electricity is important for economic growth and can facilitate the development of transportation systems, medical facilities and industrial investment, all of which cannot run on intermittent and varying power as provided by wind and solar power. Solar panels on huts are a start, but should only be a temporary energy solution until reliable electrical systems can be installed and extended into rural areas. Solar panels should never be used as a substitute for true energy security or an excuse for neglect.
Poor countries cannot afford to skip the reliable types of energy generation that have made the developed world what it is today. The solution should include all means possible, including hydroelectric, geothermal, fossil fuel and nuclear power. Africa has enough hydroelectric potential to supply all of their needs for the foreseeable future. Hydroelectric power is both clean and reliable. In Africa alone, over 200 hydroelectric dams have been blocked by environmentalists. This must stop!
Africa needs Investment, Infrastructure, Employment, Education and Disease Control.
Foreign aid must be replaced by investment in infrastructure. Most of the foreign aid is given to prop up corrupt governments. Leaders become rich while most of the aid is not used for famine relief or to build rural infrastructure and seldom reaches the people in need. Government to government foreign aid props up corrupt leaders, makes them accountable only to their donors, not the people, and prolongs poverty. Leaders that depend on foreign aid, not the tax base, are less likely to want to attract investment in new businesses or to invest in infrastructure that facilitates economic growth. As long as the problems are not solved, foreign aid money keeps coming, so corrupt leaders benefit from keeping their countries poor and controlled.
Foreign aid, other than temporary disaster relief, must be replaced with investment in infrastructure including extended electrical systems, powered by all means available, and improved and extended roads, railroads, airports and bridges, as well as education and medical facilities, and industry. The aim is to raise the economy so that poor countries no longer need outside help, but rather are net contributors to the world economy, or at least are self sufficient. It can be done and you can help.
What can you do? Lots! Here are a few suggestions from my book. Start by contacting government officials and elected representatives to demand that perpetual government to government foreign aid be replaced with accountable infrastructure investment, and that abuses by the UN and other organizations be eliminated and better practices be implemented ASAP. Donate to charities that help build infrastructure such as World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Volunteer to go and work with these organizations in poor countries. Invest in businesses/industries that are selling or buying African goods or are locating new businesses in Africa, or are offering real infrastructure assistance, or are improving medical and educational facilities.
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My award winning book, Saving Africa From Lies That Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are Destroying Third World Countries is now available online and in book stores everywhere. In print and eBook through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million.
Award-Winning Finalist in the Social Change category of the 2019 International Book Awards
After reading the book, please remember to review it on Amazon; share it with a friend and do your part to end bad practices. Visit my blog for more information and to sign up for email updates at https://savingafricafromliesthatkill.com/ and like my Facebook page.
Read the first chapter free through Bookfunnel by clicking here
Amidst “record-breaking” production, US government shows appetite to develop industrial dialogue with Africa on LNG — Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source
With record-breaking US gas production this year, and the promotion of gas as a “cleaner, cheaper” energy source a continued priority for the current White House, the US Department of Energy is now looking towards Africa to develop opportunities in the exploration, production and monetization of LNG. In the words of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, […]
Reliable Electricity is Essential to Economic Development
No Roads and No Electricity: Why Fossil Fuels are Indispensable for Development
I live in the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore. Except for the tech companies, there aren’t many similarities between Bangalore (now Bengaluru) and the Silicon Valley in California.
I live in the northern part of the city. Roads here remain in an unusable condition. They are worse than any bad road you would find in the U.S. The road leading to my neighborhood—frequented by thousands of cars every day—has remained dug up for more than 400 days now. In fact, reports indicate that around 30,000 roads in the city of Bengaluru remain either dug up or in worse condition.
Electricity infrastructure experiences frequent failures and inability to cope with even a slight drizzle of rain. Power blackouts—like the one that occurred in New York in early July—are an everyday event in many parts of India.
That is an appalling situation even by Third World standards, given that the city is the hub of some of the richest tech companies in the world.
Despite rapid economic development in India, some of India’s biggest cities still lack basic infrastructure and sanitation facilities. One reason is how rapidly its economy has grown—outpacing the growth of its infrastructure.
With 1.3 billion people, India’s developing economy can only achieve infrastructure progress in its major cities by achieving rapid economic progress. The economic progress in turn is primarily dependent on its energy sector. Energy is the backbone of any developing economy.
Ever since the liberalization of its economy in the 1990s, India has progressed by leaps and bounds. The manufacturing and service industries are slowly drawing people away from agriculture.
Many forget that this propulsion of India’s economy in the past three decades, and of any growing economy for that matter, was made possible because fossil fuels have provided energy and improved agricultural outputs: the two key pillars of India’s economy.
Today, India produces more electricity than required, but the transmission infrastructure is far behind the standards of developed countries. Fossil fuel provides more than three-fourths of the country’s energy. Fossil fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides have helped the country produce enough food for domestic consumption and export.
Twenty years ago, everyone I knew was aware of the fact that coal is one of the major solutions to our energy problems. We were right.
Today, coal is not only the country’s largest contributor to electricity, it is also the cheapest and most abundant source, resulting in uninterrupted power supply in places that have good grid infrastructure.
Our infrastructure—including transport and other public utility systems—will improve only as our economy continues to use the coal reserves, the existing oil resources, and the newly discovered natural gas reserves.
India’s defiant embrace of fossil fuels, despite pressure from anti-fossil establishments, gives hope to residents like me who can dream about a future with drivable roads and uninterrupted power supply.
Featured image by John Fornander on Unsplash.
Africa Oil Week and Menas Associates release Africa Oil and Gas Outlook for 2019 — Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source
A report released by Africa Oil Week (www.Africa-OilWeek.com) and Menas Associates about what lies in store for Africa’s oil and gas industry has concluded that, on balance, the continent’s economic performance is promising, particularly as global oil markets finally recover from their 2015-2016 lows. Africa’s proven oil and gas reserves respectively account for 7.5% and […]
African Infrastructure Investment Managers announces the final close of African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 at US$320 million — Financing for Development in Africa
AIIF3 targets significant influence investments across the power, transport and midstream energy sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa – areas with the biggest disconnect between demand for critical infrastructure and supply of available capital. The Fund focuses on mid-market opportunities in these sectors gaining exposure to opportunities in countries with high growth prospects but lacking the scale […]
Dapo Abiodun, Governor Of Ogun State To Repair Ota-Lagos-Ikorodu-Ibadan Federal Roads — Wakeupafrica360!
Dapo Abiodun, the Governor of Ogun State, has stated his governments’ decision to take over three strategic federal roads, in order to boost socio-economic activities within these industrial hubs. This much was made known by the press secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin, as he issued a press statement, where Governor Abiodun said he had…
ICPC Recovers Hospital Equipment Diverted by Minister-Designate, Akpabio — SK’s Blog
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has announced the recovery of dialysis machine, generators and hospital equipment from a property belonging to a former governor of Akwaibom state and Minister designate, Godswill Akpabio. The anti-graft agency in a statement issued on Thursday said the recovered items were meant for a cottage […]
via ICPC Recovers Hospital Equipment Diverted by Minister-Designate, Akpabio — SK’s Blog
Senegal’s Ambitious Gas-to-Power Agenda — Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source
Africa is leading the liquefied natural gas (LNG) global race as it will receive one-third of total global greenfield investments for LNG projects in 2019, around $103 billion. Senegal is leading the way with its giant Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas field, which will have economic and social benefits in the long-term. Gas-to-power is now […]
via Senegal’s Ambitious Gas-to-Power Agenda — Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source