Tag: world bank

A Cry for Help

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(Photo by WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe)
(Photo by WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe)

The United States met with European and Arab partners in London on January 27 to rally support for a drive to defeat the perceived growing al-Qaeda threat in Yemen.  The urgency for the meeting stemmed from the failed Christmas Day jetliner bombing by a Nigerian passenger allegedly trained by the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

According to BBC News, ministers and officials from some 20 Western and Arab countries gathered to discuss security and wider economic and political problems facing Yemen, the poorest state in the Arab world.

The London Summit involved representatives from the following:

-European Union

-United Nations

-World Bank

-International Monetary Fund

At the London Summit, Yemen supported the assistance from other countries with slight reservations.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said that his country wanted “international support to build infrastructure, combat poverty and create jobs, as well as support in combating terrorism.”

According to U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the United States had signed a three-year agreement focused on addressing security and development issues in Yemen.

However, so much more must be done to change the current state of Yemen and the growing threat of terrorism.

Afghanistan's Future: Importance of Education

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Source: World Bank- Education in Afghanistan
Source: World Bank- Education in Afghanistan
Source: World Bank- Skills Development in Afghanistan
Source: World Bank- Skills Development in Afghanistan

 

Some students are not as fortunate to be brought up in a culture that has access to quality education which we as Furman students often take for granted.  I will take a look at the education in Afghanistan and the challenges and improvements that are taking place. Before reading on, watch this YouTube video provided by the IRC: International Rescue Committee that focuses on Afghan education.

Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, enrollment was approximately 43% for boys and only 3% for girls. Females had been forbidden to attend school or teach during this time and only 21,000 highly under-educated teachers existed (which equaled 240 students per teacher). The International Development Association (IDA)  has helped finance multiple initiatives (such as Afghanistan Skills Development Project  in hopes to increase the number of immediately-employable graduates by building a system that is equitable, market responsive, and cost-effective) providing grants to all 34 provinces.   Funds provide teacher training, educational materials, construction, and curriculum standards. 

  • Enrollment: in grades 1-12 increased from 3.9 million in 2004 to 6.2 million in 2008
  • Girls’ Enrollment: increased from 839,000 to more than 2.2 million
  • Boys’ Enrollment: increased from 2.6 million to 3.9 million
  • Training: 32,467 teachers took a comprehensive training module (160,000 teachers total in Afghanistan)
  • Construction: 58 schools (mainly for girls) were refurbished or built

Currently, Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund approved on January 29, 2010 will have contributions  used to finance Afghanistan’s education program and the Education Quality Improvement Program will assist with basic education, school construction, and school upgrades.  Committees are composed of local community members and they form partnerships with the local government to manage education needs.  Such education is key to foster an outlook for a positive future for the country by eliminating poverty and decreasing the gender gap.

Lending a Helpful Hand: Foreign Aid

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uncle sam foreign aid

As Furman students, we often get trapped in the “Furman bubble” and sometimes neglect to see what is truly going on in the world around us.  We often take things such as our education and health for granted.  My goal in this blog over the semester is to focus on various aspects of the United States and international organizations assisting in foreign countries with an emphasis on education and health aid among other human interest topics.  My sources will include USAID, IRC, World Bank, the UN and UNICEF as well as interviews from experts, classmates, and professors.  By doing this I hope to provide valuable insight into this aspect of U.S. foreign aid and hopefully enable my peers to be educated and formulate their own opinions on international issues.