Blog #11 Ghana and five other countries to reduce poverty

According to All Ghana News six countries have been selected In the pursuit to reduce poverty in Africa; to strengthen effective collaboration between research, advocacy and media in order to deliver pro-poor policies for the continent.  The project, to be implemented in Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda, has a financial support from Southern Africa Trust through Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In Ghana, the project is initiated by SEND Ghana, a non-governmental organization. It has Ghana News Agency (GNA), Public Agenda, Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development,   Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation Food Research Institute and the Water Research Institute in addressing Aflatoxin in maize in the Techiman Municipality and high cyanide and arsenic concentration in water in the Tarkwa Municipality. Speaking to the GNA, Mr Siapha Kamara, Chief Executive Officer of SEND Ghana said the collaboration between these institutions would maximize poverty reduction and improved evidence based advocacy for policy change, transparent and accountable governance.

In a sense, capitalism is being reinforced in this situation; an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit I believe that capitalism allows individuals to flourish, assuming they have something of value to offer. the article states that capitalism is trade without regulation. However this all stems with the individual. You cant overlook those who refuse to be productive and wallow in poverty by choice. As countries who are more fortunate then others such as Ghana, should led a helping hand. I think this help will  increase quality of water, which has been a main affect on lives and has caused many deaths. I am happy to see that action is being taken in making this a better world.

 http://www.allghananews.com/general-news/6540-ghana-and-five-other-countries-to-reduce-poverty

Blog #10 Americans in Poverty at Greater Risk for Chronic Health Problems

A US NEWS article goes on stating that poverty doesn't just mean trouble making ends meet and having few assets. According to data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Americans in poverty are more likely to suffer from a variety of chronic health problems, both psychological and physical. Of the illnesses tracked in a Gallup report on the data, depression has the greatest gap between those in poverty and not in poverty. Nearly 31 percent of adults who lived below the poverty line in 2011 said they had been diagnosed with depression at some point, almost twice as high as the rate for those not in poverty — 15.8 percent. The share of adults in poverty with asthma (17.1 percent) or obesity (31.8 percent) was also roughly 6 percentage points higher in each case than the share of adults not in poverty. The study also showed that diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart attacks were slightly more likely to afflict those in poverty than those who are not. While that finding is striking, the Gallup report points out that the causal relationship between depression and poverty — not to mention the other diseases listed in the study — is complicated. Depression can be associated with other chronic illnesses, and depression can both lead to and result from poverty. In addition, outside factors could contribute to any of these problems. One outside factor is health habits. Smoking was far more prevalent among adults in poverty, 33 percent of whom said they were smokers, compared to 19.9 percent of those not in poverty.
This article can also relate to our most recent chapter and discussion in class. Some chronic illnesses can eventually lead to death based on its severity. This can play a huge role in the death and birth rate through the Demographic Transition Theory. Poverty is an issue many families face, but I guess some of us are blinded to the fact that along with poverty comes issues such a depression, increased exposure to risks and decreased access to health services, etc... Psychosocial factors are also a good example of lack of social support and perceived lack of control, are strongly related to the risk of chronic diseases. Countries around the world struggle with the best way to provide affordable health care. Most countries offer a system of national health care, but in many places this is severely underfunded or unavailable.

 http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/10/30/americans-in-poverty-at-greater-risk-for-chronic-health-problems

Blog#9: 30 million Americans on the edge of poverty

According to Yahoo News, more than 30 million Americans are living just above the poverty line. These near poor, often defined as having incomes of up to 1.5 times the poverty threshold, were supporting a family of four on no more than $34,500 last year. According to CNNMoney they are more likely to be white than those in poverty, through a Census Bureau data. They are more likely to be elderly and more than three times as likely to work full-time, year-round. The worst part of all is knowing that they are more likely not to receive help from the government. "People just above the poverty line are just one paycheck or health disaster away from poverty," said Katherine Newman, a dean at Johns Hopkins University. "They are still quite fragile." According to data, the near poor have grown by about 10% in number over the past five years, as the Great Recession sent many people falling down the income ladder. The ranks of those in poverty, on the other hand, swelled 24% in the same period. The fact that there are more blacks in poverty than among the near poor likely stems from the fact that the unemployment rate among blacks is nearly double that of whites, said Robert Moffitt, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins. And they have much higher rates of single motherhood, he said. Whites, on the other hand, likely have enough earnings to put them just above the poverty line.
After doing some research, I have come to learn that Social Security keeps many of the elderly, particularly white seniors, above the poverty line. So it's not surprising that nearly 40% of the near poor who didn't work are retired, but only 6% say they couldn't find a job. On the flip side, 46% are employed and nearly half are working full-time. The government has been giving some but little assistance through certain programs which help some families remain just above the poverty line. Assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid, and financial aid etc... Nevertheless, there are still a lot of other families who do not receive any type of help from the government. Only 57% of the near poor receive public aid, excluding school lunches, compared with 70.3% of those in poverty. These groups of people are often times overlooked by policymakers and advocates. It is sad to say, that in our own country such struggles exist and they are not even being acknowledged.

 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/30-million-americans-edge-poverty-133700133.html;_ylt=Asr6Zac2xcyEF5Vu8GlHHmrQtDMD

Blog #8 Poverty hits Canberra households

According to ACT Council of Social Service, close to 10 per cent of Canberrans are living in poverty. The Cost of Living Report shows utilities costs have risen nearly 50 per cent over the last five years. ACTCOSS director Roslyn Dundas says many people do not realize some Canberra households are struggling; particularly given the city has higher-than-average incomes. The report also found low-income households spend significantly less on health than higher income households. Meg Richens of Uniting Care Kippax says charities are experiencing growing demand for emergency and long-term support. "We certainly do see a large number of people who are affected by poverty in a range of ways; those who are permanently living below the poverty line and those who are dipping into and out of statistical definition of poverty. There are often people who are affected by a one-off crisis or an unexpected cost," she said.

Families are going days, weeks on end, without food. Parents are making decisions on rather to feed their children and not eat themselves. This leads to deterioration in health. Families are making judgments on rather to keep a roof over their head this is resulting in them going without food, or going into significant debt as they try to meet utilities costs. Ms Dundas is calling on the Federal Government to increase unemployment benefits such as the Newstart allowance. "Households and families on low income cannot meet the increasing cost of living pressures that we are facing," she said. Along with Ms. Dundas I agree that allowances need to be increased to help people escape poverty. "Newstart is one of the lower paid allowances and for people who are trying to continue to be engaged in the employment sector, it is really hard to do that when you don't have sufficient resources just to live on a day to day basis let alone being able to prepare yourself for interviews, get to those interviews, be sufficiently well presented," she said.

 http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/15149416/poverty-hits-canberra-households/