Opportunity International Australia Blog

Every year, 17 October marks the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, recognising the billions of people around the world who live in poverty. Aiming to raise awareness of the need to eradicate poverty in all countries, the day encourages the global community to join together to do just that.

This year has the theme From Poverty to Sustainability: People at the Centre of Inclusive Development, highlighting the importance of poverty eradication for building sustainable futures for all. Today, people living in poverty face increasingly difficult challenges as climate change, environmental degradation and rising food prices threaten their livelihoods and survival. 17 October provides a platform for their voices to be heard.

Working in developing countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and India where poverty levels are as high as some 75% of the population, Opportunity empowers poor families by giving them a hand up not a hand-out so that they too can benefit from secure livelihoods and have the capacity to build a sustainable future. 

In honour of the occasion, Opportunity is aiming to empower 3,500 women in India with small loans, allowing them to start a small business, earn an income and afford proper food, shelter and an education for their children. If you would like to make a significant difference in honour of 17 October, click here to give a hand up not a hand-out to 3,500 women who desperately need your help.

Sources: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/poverty/, http://social.un.org/index/Poverty/InternationalDayfortheEradicationofPoverty/2011.aspx

Asian food prices hit a record high last month, as prices for some staple commodities reached their highest levels in 20 years. Recent climate instability and resulting crop damage has been blamed for the growing food inflation crisis. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation warn that this trend is likely to continue over the next year.

The recent inflation has sparked concerns that the trend will spread to other sectors of the economy. In countries where millions still live below the poverty line, a rise in prices can be devastating. For many, food constitutes a sizeable proportion of their expenses and the recent spike in prices comes as a major blow to already limited budgets.

"Food price increases impact the poor hardest as food is a higher proportion of their incomes," said James Bond, Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank's political risk insurance arm. "It creates significant tension in poorer countries, exacerbates standard of living disparities and is a major source of unrest." A similar crisis in 2008 prompted riots and protests in many parts of the word, and there are fears that this could happen again.

Global food insecurity and rising costs of living have eroded the incomes of many people living in need. At Opportunity International Australia, our aim is to provide more than just aid. Through small loans, our clients are able to set up and grow businesses, generating new income for themselves and their families so they can endure rising food prices. If you would like to provide a small loan today, please click here.

The United Nations International Volunteers Day will be held on 5 December 2010. Celebrated around the world to recognise the contribution of volunteers in the community, the day this year is particularly special as it coincides with the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers. As well as a time for thanking our volunteers, the event is also an opportunity to remind people that volunteering contributes to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with the United Nations stating that in order for the MDGs to be achieved, they will require the ingenuity, solidarity and creativity of millions of people through voluntary action.

Opportunity International Australia has more than 26 volunteers and interns that help out in our head and state offices across Australia – organising fundraising activities, providing administrative support, sharing their IT skills and contributing to our research projects. They help us achieve our mission by enabling us to better steward our resources, increase our efficiency and ensure that more funds are put in the hands of those who need it most. We would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers for their support and dedication.

If you would like to volunteer with Opportunity, please click here https://www.opportunity.org.au/Get-Involved/Volunteer.aspx

If you would like to donate to our programs as we work to achieve the MDGs, please click here https://www.opportunity.org.au/Donations---Events.aspx

A recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has reported that 29 countries, primarily in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, have ’alarming‘ levels of hunger. The report’s release coincides with United Nations World Food Day, which was observed on 16 October. The theme for this year was ‘United against hunger’, recognising the efforts that have been made in the fight against hunger. The 1 Billion Hungry Project was also launched to draw attention to the observance. The project invites people to sign a petition at www.1billionhungry.org with the aim of putting pressure on governments to end hunger.

Hunger levels in 2009 reached one billion people, thought in part to be a repercussion of the global economic crisis and rising food costs. There have never been so many hungry people in the world, and as Food and Agriculture Organisation Director-General Jacques Diouf put it, that is a “tragic achievement in these modern days”. With the global economy recovering, figures for 2010 are slightly lower – estimated at approximately 925 million.

According to the report, one factor exacerbating hunger levels in South Asia, particularly child malnourishment, is the low educational, nutritional and social status of women. At Opportunity International Australia, 94% of the people we serve with microfinance loans are women. Through the support provided by our partners in the field, our clients are able to feed their families, educate their children and save for the future. If you would like to help and provide microfinance loans to families facing hunger, please click here.  

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According to a report released by ActionAid, the cost of hunger is estimated at US $450 billion a year (approximately A$482 billion). To quote ActionAid’s CEO Joanna Kerr, “Fighting hunger now will be ten times cheaper than ignoring it.  Every year, reduced worker productivity, poor health and lost education costs poor countries billions.”

Efforts to reduce world hunger were seriously compromised by rising food prices and the global financial crisis. The report reveals that 12 of the 28 developing nations that pledged to halve hunger by 2015 actually backtracked in 2009, when over a billion people still went to bed hungry. 

More recently, the floods in Pakistan have ruined vast tracts of arable farmland, while in Russia, drought has destroyed a quarter of the country’s crop, forcing it to ban grain export. A food crisis in Niger has left over seven million people vulnerable to famine.

Despite these grim trends, the situation in 2010 has seen some improvement. According to a report by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, the number of undernourished has dropped by around 9.6% from the previous year. The FAO says that this decline is explained primarily by the economic recovery in 2010. 

However, “the fact that nearly a billion people remain hungry, even after the recent food and financial crises have largely passed, indicates a deeper structural problem,” the FAO report said. The agency also urged governments to “encourage increased investment in agriculture, expand safety nets and social assistance programmes, and enhance income-generating activities for the rural and urban poor.”

In India, a lack of investment in agriculture has meant that the numbers of hungry grew by 40 million between 1990 and 2006, and according to UNICEF, a further 20 million were added to this total by 2008.

Among the countries that remain on track to halve hunger by 2015 are Brazil, China, Ghana, Malawi and Vietnam.  China, for instance, has cut poverty from 84% to 15%, according to UN figures, well ahead of its Millennium deadline. Their success is due to the increased investment in small farms, and the introduction of social protection schemes. 

Jacquez Diouf, Director General of the FAO, said the continuing high global hunger level “makes it extremely difficult to achieve not only the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) but also the rest of the MDGs.”

For hunger reduction to be sustainable, people in poverty need to be able to feed themselves. At Opportunity International Australia, we provide small loans, helping people work their way toward a better future. Please visit https://www.opportunity.org.au/Donations---Events.aspx to help today.

Stand Up Against Poverty 2010 is here this weekend! Get involved between 17-19 September.

Learn more here: http://www.opportunity.org.au/Latest-News/Stand-Up-2010.aspx

Global food prices increased by an average of 43% between 2007 and 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund. During this period, food most commonly consumed by those in developing countries – including wheat, soybeans, corn and rice – saw the greatest price rises globally, with wheat prices increasing by a staggering 146%. Data from a recent United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) report (released 15 June 2010) now suggests that global food prices could potentially increase by a further 40% in the coming decade as the global population continues to soar.

Worst hit by the price rises will be those in developing countries, specifically the poor, contributing to the ongoing food crisis in 31 countries worldwide, including India, Indonesia, the Philippines and 20 African nations. At the household level, increasing food prices have the greatest effect on underprivileged and food-insecure populations. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, these households spend 50% - 60% or more of their income on basic food commodities.

Consider the implications for the 2.7 billion people who the World Bank report live on US$2 a day or less. According to the UN Human Development Reports from 2007 and 2009, that’s 75.6% of Indian people, 54% of Indonesian people and 45% of the Filipino people spending at least half of their income on food – a huge proportion when your daily income is only US$2. When food prices go up, people living in poverty are forced to use more of their daily income on food, leaving less for other necessities such as school fees, healthcare or proper shelter. Alternatively, they are forced to purchase less food, and with the United Nations estimating 1 billion go to bed hungry every night, malnutrition is often an inevitable result.

The impact of the crisis can be seen in the reality that a child dies from hunger every five seconds (according to the UNFAO). In the countries where Opportunity International Australia operates, the need is clear. The World Health Organization states that “about 49% of the world’s underweight children, 34% of the world’s stunted children and 46% of the world’s wasted children live in India.” Similarly, the World Food Programme asserts that the nutritional status of children under five in Indonesia has steadily declined since 2003, while in the Philippines, approximately 30% of children under five are stunted as a direct result of hunger and malnutrition.

Feeding people in crisis is undoubtedly a crucial priority, and while aid can have a significant impact, it is increasingly apparent that this help needs to be supplemented with a long-term solution to prepare those in greatest need for the predicted inflation in food prices. Microfinance can help provide families in developing countries with hope for a more secure and sustainable future. Loans as small as $100 through Opportunity International Australia help families start or grow a small business and create a sustainable income, necessary for families having to cope with price fluctuations.

If you would like to help those facing the hunger crisis help themselves by starting a small business, please click here to provide a small loan to someone in need today.

The majority of Australians want the Federal Government to spend more on foreign aid and reach the United Nations target of committing 0.7% of gross national income in aid, a Galaxy poll has found. Read the full story at:

http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2010/08/australians-want-more-spent-foreign-aid