Tag Archives: poverty

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Rio’s Sambodromo parades are a fantasy of beautiful bodies and dreamlike costumes but the self-declared greatest show on Earth is prepared in a dirty street next to an open sewer. The contrast between what happens inside Rio de Janeiro’s specially built samba stadium …

COMMENT: By Morris Komakech Every poverty eradication effort exacerbates it and perpetuates worse outcomes in the long term My friend Ojotre and his fiancee have travelled through many countries in Africa. They have marveled at the sight of expensive government guzzlers – four-wheel drives – emblazoned with big inscriptions such …

COMMENT: By Winnie Byanyima The global economic system harms hundreds of millions of people who are already stricken by poverty and exploitation In 2015, the 62 richest people in the world held as much wealth as the 3.6 billion poorest and most vulnerable. In 2016, a mere eight people did, …

Soma, Gambia | AFP | They breathed a sigh of relief when strongman Yahya Jammeh finally left The Gambia. But supporters of the new president, Adama Barrow, say he has a lot to do to get the country — one of Africa’s poorest — on its feet. “At the end …

Chengalpattu, India | AFP | A small scythe, a crowbar and a bundle of canvas bags are all that Kali and Vedan carry when they venture into the fields of southern India to catch some of the world’s deadliest snakes. Their skills, passed from generation to generation of the Irula …

Butembo, DR Congo | AFP | The question is so absurd that Butembo’s deputy mayor misses a beat before answering. What is the town’s unemployment rate? “Unemployment is the norm around these parts,” says Godefroid Kambere Matimbya. “There aren’t any businesses.” Butembo is no ghost town, but a city of …

Washington, United States | AFP |  World economic leaders gathered in Washington this week to defend globalization, delivering a single message in unison: Protectionism will not save you. But this glosses over the plight of Africa, which is sinking further into poverty despite years of free trade. According to the …

Special Report on the future of poverty in Uganda Ugandans often jokingly say people from western Uganda “are eating” to mean that they are economically prospering. It is also often a jibe at westerners because they are the “ruling clan” since President Yoweri Museveni hails from western Uganda. So when …

VIDEO: Ever wondered why the education standards in Mityana district have gone to the dogs? Our team embarked on a journey to Mityana to find what the problem could be and in what might be a surprise to many… the teachers in district have resorted to riding boda bodas instead of attending …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP | When farmer Isaac Tondo fell on lean times in Liberia’s long rainy season, his brother in the capital sent 8,000 Liberian dollars (US$87) to his Lonestar mobile money account, ensuring his children’s school fees would still be paid. Across Africa more and more people — …